MADRID – Spanish railway company Renfe is taking an unprecedented step into the international travel market, with affordable prices and super-fast train journeys connecting Spain and France.
Since July 13, Renfe has been offering high-speed connections between Barcelona and Lyon with its AVE trains, with stops in French cities such as Perpignan, Narbonne, and Nimes. In just three months, this service has been expanded to more than thirty weekly journeys, with cities such as Marseille, Montpellier, and Avignon also being added to the network.
Explosive growth in the number of passengers
The frequency of journeys has increased significantly thanks to the introduction of the Madrid – Marseille line on July 29, which runs four times a week with stops in Avignon and Aix-en-Provence. Both AVE lines (Barcelona – Lyon and Madrid – Marseille) are now operational daily, connecting “17 destinations between the two countries with a total of 28 weekly services,” according to the company. During the first 90 days, Renfe has already carried more than 100,000 passengers on its international AVE routes between Spain and France. Here there are also stopovers in cities such as Zaragoza, Tarragona, or Figueres.
Speed and efficiency are central
What makes Renfe’s service so attractive is its speed. The Madrid – Marseille route, with all stops, takes just over 8 hours at an average speed of 140 km/h. Shorter routes, such as Barcelona to Lyon, take just 5 hours, and from Lyon to Barcelona even slightly less than that.
Affordable train travel for everyone
Renfe’s ‘Super Prices’ initiative is one of the biggest selling points for travellers. With this initiative, the company aims to sell more than 20 million tickets through its various services (such as Avlo, AVE, Alvia, Intercity, and Euromed). With prices starting from just €15 for travel between French cities, €29 for international routes between Spain and France, and €39 for longer routes, Renfe makes international travel accessible to everyone.
