Avlo low-cost high-speed train from Renfe
Welcome / International / In Spain, the drop in ticket prices causes train ridership to jump
Par : Alban ELKAÏM
They have kept their promises: in Spain, the opening of high-speed lines to competition and government subsidies to reduce the cost of several transport tickets have led to a significant drop in the cost of train travel. And explodes attendance on the rail network as a whole. In 2022, 440 million travelers used rail, an increase of 36% compared to the previous year. The partial figures for 2023 seem to confirm the trend.
26.7 million users traveled on the long-distance network last year, according to the dedicated annual report from the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC). This is 76% more than the previous year. The increase was particularly marked on lines where the historic national operator, Renfe, is no longer alone. In May 2021, SNCF was the first competitor to challenge the Spanish with its low-cost subsidiary Ouigo Spain between Madrid and Barcelona, followed by the Italian Iryo, in November 2022. While the average price of a Renfe ticket was from 78 euros last March, it varied from 37 to 42 euros for the two newcomers. 10.2 million users took this route in 2022. An increase of 80% compared to last year. The figure even exceeds the level of 2019, before the pandemic which caused the number of train trips to plummet.
Faced with this price war, Renfe launched its own low-cost operator: Avlo, which also drives prices down. The trend has been so clear that the train is eating into the plane’s market share for the routes concerned.
On the curve measuring this attendance, we observe a marked jump between the third and fourth quarter of 2022. It coincides with the date of implementation of “free” subscriptions for peri-urban trains, called “Cercanías”, and the regional network classic, called “Media distance”. Since September 2022, subscriptions for regular travelers have been 100% subsidized by the State. VS
Two questions remain, however: has this craze for the train reduced the number of cars on the roads? The data is still incomplete and it remains difficult to measure. But above all, what will happen when the subsidies end?