Alex Trelinski
THE HIGH SPEED train war on the Alicante to Madrid line goes up another notch on Friday as Iryo launches its service with low-fares to tempt customers.
Iryo- run by Italy’s main train operator, Trenitalia, in association with Spain’s Air Nostrum and Globalvia- joins Renfe’s Avlo and French-owned Ouigo in battling for travellers on the Alicante line.
Iryo’s first service in Spain started last November between Barcelona and Madrid.
It has a distinctive fleet of 20 red-coloured trains which have cost €800 million.
The Madrid-Alicante Iryo service will stop at Albacete and tickets have been sold since the start of the year with a company spokesman claiming that sales had gone ‘very well’.
The first train will depart from Madrid’s Chamartin station at 7.45am and will arrive at Alicante at 10.10 am.
Two services in each direction will be run daily and there are four basic ticket categories starting from €18 one way.
If passengers pay more, they will get extra space if they need to work or want a meal delivered to where they are seated.
Iryo says they are aiming to attract both business and leisure travellers.
READ MORE:
- Spain’s high-speed train war intensifies this week as Iryo joins fight for passengers
- Low cost high-speed train connecting Costa del Sol with Madrid has arrived in Málaga
