Simon Hunter
SPAIN’S state railway service Renfe is celebrating the launch of the new high-speed Avril service between Madrid and Galicia, with what it is calling a ‘superprices’ campaign, with tickets on sale for as little as €18.
The promotion starts today, and is offering travel from May 21 to July 21, with as many as 33,000 tickets up for grabs at the renfe.com website.
New trains, with the model number S106, will cover the route, which will run from Madrid to the Galician cities of Vigo, A Coruña, Santiago de Compostela, Pontevedra and Vilagarcía de Arousa in the stunning northwestern region.
The high-speed train services will cut the current journey time between Madrid and Vigo and A Coruña by 16 minutes, and between the capital and Santiago de Compostela by 18 minutes.
According to a statement released by the central government, and reported by news agency Efe, the arrival of these new trains is the first phase in a reorganisation of the high-speed rail system, which includes work to increase the capacity at the Chamartin-Clara Campoamor station in north Madrid.
Spain’s high-speed rail network is the pride of many Spaniards, thanks to nearly 4,000 kilometres of track that connect dozens of cities across the Iberian peninsula, on trains that are fast, clean and comfortable.
However, while destinations such as Galicia are benefitting from investment in the system, other areas are still waiting for the network to arrive.
These include the provinces of Huelva and Cadiz, which were dealt a further blow for their hopes for a faster train service this week when Socialist Party Transport Minister Oscar Puente has just ruled out any such public works any time soon.
