A Spanish AVE at Lyon Part-Dieu station on July 6, 2023, a few days before setting off for Barcelona. OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP
Two weeks after inaugurating its Lyon-Barcelona line, the Spanish company is launching its second link between France and Spain this Friday.
Partners yesterday, competitors today. Less than a year after the end of the cooperation between SNCF and Renfe, the latter now operates its own lines between France and Spain. After the Lyon-Barcelona line on July 13, it is the turn of the Marseille-Madrid line to open this Friday July 28.
How much are the tickets ?
To make itself known to French passengers, the Spanish company had set up a very attractive launch offer when sales opened on June 21. Promotional tickets were sold from 9 euros for journeys between two French stations (details below) for departures until October 31. For journeys between France and Spain, call prices ranged between 19 and 29 euros depending on the distance.
A month later, such prices are still available on certain dates in September and October. However, they are much rarer in August. For a Lyon-Barcelona on Saturday August 19, count for example 115 euros one way. The Marseille-Madrid, meanwhile, is sold at 159 euros the last weekend of August.
Several paid options are offered, such as the choice of seat (€5), the transport of a pet (€10) or the possibility of changing the ticket holder (€30). Elige Confort fare tickets are exchangeable with a 20% deduction and refundable with a 30% deduction. To avoid paying these penalties, there are the “Unlimited exchanges” and “Full refund” options, each offered at €5. Tickets purchased at the promotional fare or at the “Basic” fare are neither exchangeable nor refundable.
What are the times and frequencies?
Map of the France-Spain links that Renfe will provide from July 13. Renfe
A daily round trip is provided on each line, i.e. two round trips per day between the two countries. However, in July and August, trains only run from Friday to Monday inclusive. It will be necessary to wait until September to switch to a daily frequency. Spanish AVEs leave Lyon Part-Dieu at 2:35 p.m. for an arrival in Barcelona at 7:32 p.m., a 5-hour journey. In Marseille Saint-Charles, the departure is at 8:03 a.m. for an arrival in the Spanish capital at 3:45 p.m., i.e. around 7:30 a.m. journey.
The stops served in France are Marseille, Lyon, Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, Valence, Nîmes, Montpellier, Béziers, Narbonne, Perpignan. In Spain, trains stop in Figueres, Girona, Barcelona, Tarragona, Zaragoza and Madrid. Details of timetables and services are available here.
Since the end of the SNCF-Renfe cooperation, in December 2022, the Franco-Spanish connections were only provided by the SNCF. It now offers three daily round trips between Paris and Barcelona (between 6:30 and 7 hours), with stops in Sète, Béziers and Perpignan, among others.
Read alsoFranco-Spanish rail war: a scandal for passengers
What is the comfort on board?
Spanish AVEs have a 2nd class called “Standard” and a 1st class called “Comfort”. A catering service is offered in the bar car and by means of trolleys which pass through the cars during the journey. The trains also have Wi-Fi. Each passenger can carry up to three bags of 25 kg each.
Will Renfe launch new lines?
Renfe is already seeing further. “Next stop: Paris!», Proudly launched Raül Blanco, president of the company, during a press conference. The company aims to launch a Paris-Lyon-Marseille and Paris-Lyon-Barcelona line “before the Olympicsof Paris 2024. It would thus compete with both SNCF and Trenitalia on the Paris-Lyon line, the most coveted and most profitable in France.
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The arrival of the SNCF in Spain, in May 2021, precipitated the break with Renfe, creating a Franco-Spanish rail war damaging for passengers. The French company has sent around fifteen TGV trains to the other side of the Pyrenees to operate lines linking the main Spanish cities, including Barcelona, Madrid, Seville and Alicante. Ouigo Spain prides itself on having transported five million travelers in two years with tickets sold from 9 euros.
ON VIDEO – The railway company Renfe launches its first connections between Spain and France
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This article is being updated.
2023-07-28 21:38:13
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