Renfe to offer new low-cost tickets on high-speed routes

Spain’s state-owned railway company Renfe is preparing to offer low-cost tickets on their high-speed AVE network according to company president Isaias Taboas.

While speaking at a recent conference about how under new EU rules state-owned railway operators will no longer be able to be run as monopolies Taboas said:

“Renfe will expand its commercial offer both with the option of low cost but also improving the current one. The objective is to attract users who today do not travel by high-speed train.

To explain his plan he used the Madrid-Barcelona route as an example adding: “We currently take care of 30% of the trips that are made between the two cities, we can generate products that allow us to attract users who today opt for the plane, the bus or the car.”