This Wednesday at 5:35 AM, the first AVLO, Renfe's low-cost AVE, will begin circulating. It will depart from Figueres and will stop in Girona (5:51), Barcelona (6:40), Zaragoza (8:06), and Madrid (9:25). The inaugural AVLO journey will mark a milestone in the history of the railway company, significantly lowering the price of the route connecting the country's two main cities. From now on, to go to Madrid from Barcelona, the train will compete with an advantage due to the price factor compared to the car, bus, and plane, thus facilitating the choice of the most sustainable and comfortable means of transport.
This new Renfe service will offer tickets starting from seven euros, which will vary according to seat availability and can go up to almost 90, in line with the usual AVE price. For children under 14, there will be a basic fare of five euros, provided they are accompanied by an adult, and discounts of between 20% and 50% are also planned for large families.
To be able to offer such low prices, AVLO trains will only have tourist class and extra services will be eliminated, such as the bar service, which the pandemic has already canceled on Renfe trains. As with the AVE, there will also be Wi-Fi, leaving behind the disconnection previously experienced on train journeys. Likewise, the basic AVLO ticket will include the possibility of boarding one cabin suitcase and one hand bag or backpack, paying an extra if more luggage is to be added. More will also have to be paid to choose a seat or make last-minute changes or cancellations.
The AVLO will start with four daily services in each direction between Barcelona and Madrid, which can be expanded according to demand. There will be direct AVLO trains between Barcelona and Madrid, especially from the capital, and others that will make stops at the different stations of the high-speed northeast corridor (Figueres, Girona, Camp de Tarragona, Lleida, Zaragoza, Calatayud, and Guadalajara). Only the AVLO departing from Madrid at 7:30 PM will stop at all stations.
The low cost AVE will start this June 23 circulating through the corridor that has the highest volume of travelers, with more than seven million annually registered before the pandemic. It will use series 112 trains, which have been reformed in the workshops to be able to fit 20% more passengers, up to 438 seats. Thus, about 3,500 daily seats will be offered daily in both directions. Subsequently, new series 106 trains will be incorporated, with even more capacity, with 581 seats per train. This service is expected to extend to the connection from Madrid with Seville next year.
The AVLO will not be the only low-cost train
The premiere of AVLO comes after a long wait. It had to be launched in April 2020, but the COVID crisis delayed any schedule. In this period, Ouigo has advanced to Renfe and has been the first to launch the low cost connection between Madrid and Barcelona, thanks to the liberalization of high speed.
Since Monday, May 10, the low-cost subsidiary of the SNCF group offers tickets starting from nine euros, which can reach up to 75 euros, in line with the price variability of AVLO. In the case of Ouigo, it circulates with up to 30,000 seats a day, with a total of 10 daily departures, five in each direction, and with stops only in Tarragona and Zaragoza.