SOARING petrol prices and the cost-of-living crisis have boosted the popularity of rail travel, where low-cost transport companies seem to prosper and reach more and more places.
In the case of Andalucia, the three low-cost train companies currently operating in Spain will start services in the region throughout this year, 2023, and 2024.
Iryo, linked to the company Ilsa, the Spanish private high-speed rail operator, will be the first of the low-cost train companies to start operating this year in Andalucia.
Iryo will kick-start its service in the region on March 31 and will link the cities of Madrid, Sevilla, Cordoba and Malaga.
The cheapest tickets available for these trains will cost €18.
The next to arrive will be Avlo, the low-cost branch of Renfe, which will start operating between Madrid, Sevilla, Cordoba and Malaga from June 2023.
These routes will also have stops at intermediate stations on each of the high-speed lines, such as Puente Genil and Antequera.
Avlo will offer four trains between Madrid and Andalucia, two with destination Sevilla and the other two with final stop in Malaga.
Avlo will offer tickets with prices starting at €7.
Additionally, the French SNFC subsidiary, Ouigo, will also soon be operating in Andalucia.
However, it will take longer to arrive than its competitors. The company has had to delay its plans in the region until April 2024, in order to adjust its trains to the LZB signalling system.
Its forecast plans, when its operations start, will be to begin linking the cities where Avlo and Iryo will also operate: Sevilla and Malaga, with a stop in Cordoba.
Ouigo’s ticket prices in Andalucia are still unclear, but in the other national cities where the French company operates, the minimum fare is €9.
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