trenilitalia

Trenitalia's red trains arrive in Spain

After the Paris-Lyon route since last December, the "red arrows" - the Frecciarossa high-speed trains used by Trenitalia - are expected to enter the Spanish market on November 25, according to various media. In a country where the opening of the railway market is more than a reality. Since in addition to the high-speed trains of the national company Renfe and its low-cost subsidiary Avlo, the SNCF launched its Ouigo offer there last year. Since March 2021, its low-cost TGVs have been running on the Madrid-Barcelona line via Zaragoza and Tarragona, establishing a network that will be extended from October 7 to the Madrid-Valencia route, and awaiting extension to Seville and Malaga in 2023.

Connecting Madrid to Barcelona and Zaragoza in the north, and to Seville, Malaga, Cordoba, Valencia and Alicante in the south; through its company called iryoare more or less the same destinations as Trenitalia is preparing to serve in a first phase in Spain, with the objective of reaching the Basque Country and Galicia before, why not, an extension of the international lines, supporting iryo, for example, the creation of a high-speed line between Madrid and Lisbon.

For the last stage, before the train is approved and used on the Spanish rail network, technical tests began in mid-August between Madrid and Barcelona, and the first tickets are expected to go on sale between September and October. While the company plans to operate more than 80 daily routes from Madrid, including 32 to Barcelona, on which passengers will be able to enjoy the comfort of the high-speed trains used by the company in Italy and France, the Hitachi-built Frecciarossa 1000. Some 20 brand new high-speed trains have been commissioned, recognized for their sustainable qualities and their ability to save 80% of carbon dioxide per passenger per journey.

"Our trains will be equipped with smart Wi-Fi, a content platform, a cafeteria service and a very innovative catering service," Victor Baudelaire said in 2021. In 2021, Victor Bañares, CEO of Ilsa, the consortium behind the iryo startup, revealed in a interview with the Spanish magazine Expansión. In this context, iryo announced in June that its service provider would be Gate Gourmet. Another element planned for the launch of the project, but of which no outline has yet been revealed, is the development of a product for business travelers and another for leisure passengers, all of which are included in one dynamic pricing strategy.

In parallel with its arrival in France, the railway group Ferrovie della Stato Italiane, parent company of Trenitalia, has entered into a partnership with a subsidiary of Iberia, the regional airline Air Nostrum, in order to establish itself on the Spanish market. The presence of this partner in the capital of the Ilsa consortium attests to the potential synergies between train and plane that the iryo company intends to exploit. As it has recently done in Rome with the opening of new rail links to Naples and Florence at Fiumicino airport. Trenitalia hopes to incorporate Madrid-Barajas airport into its network. "With a third line or a dedicated corridor; but we have to reach the airport because we want to be the key provider of travelers on intercontinental air routes," said Victor Bañares in the aforementioned interview.

Scroll to Top