The arrival of new railway operators to Spain –Ouigo and Iryo– has caused decreases in the average prices of all routes open to competition, especially in the case of trains that connect Madrid and Barcelonain which the cost of banknotes have fallen by 65% since 2019, according to a trainline study. The report from the travel booking platform reveals that the average price of a Madrid-Barcelona ticket is around 35 euros22% less compared to the previous year.
The liberalization of passenger travel in Spain -produced in 2021- has also made the rest of the routes in which there is more than one operator cheaper, all of them high-speed. Thus, the trains Madrid-Alicante They cost 47% less than in 2022 and have an average price of 29 euros, while the convoys that connect the Spanish capital with Valencia They register a drop of 44% and record an average cost of 23 euros.
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Regarding the lines that unite Madrid with Andalusiathe route to Malaga is 37% cheaper, with an average price of 44 euros, and those to Seville and Córdoba They point to a decrease of 35%, which places the average cost at 42 and 37 euros, respectively. The breakup of the Renfe monopoly in the transfer of travelers – like the relaxation of measures against the pandemic – has also caused an increase in the number of passengers on routes open to competition, among which stands out Madrid-Alicantewhere the previous year’s figure has been multiplied by six.
The tourist routes
Furthermore, Madrid-Valencia registers five times more passengers than in 2022; Madrid-Málaga, up to four times more, and Madrid-Seville and Madrid-Barcelona triple the influx of people. The routes with more traffic They are that of the capital of the State with Barcelona, those of Valencia, Seville and Malaga with Madrid and the one that links Valencia with Barcelona. The study adds that the Seville-Barcelona route is the favorite of foreign tourists, representing 63% of the total passengers, followed by Málaga-Barcelona, with 42%; Madrid-Seville, with 40%; Madrid-Córdoba, with 32%, and Madrid-Málaga, with 29%