Spain to launch the EVA, or 'budget' AVE fast rail service
Wednesday, February 7, 2018 @ 7:18 PM
A 'LOW-COST', 'no-frills' version of Spain's high-speed AVE line will be launched next year, with its first connection being between Madrid and Barcelona via El Prat de Llobregat.
Rail board RENFE hopes to attract long-distance travellers who normally opt for much cheaper means such as Bla Bla Car, and typical prices will be about 20% to 25% lower than the usual Alta Velocidad Española ('Spanish High-Speed', or AVE) tickets.
The budget version has been called the 'EVA' – AVE backwards, and a woman's name, according to minister for public works Íñigo de la Serna – meaning it is not an acronym for anything else, unlike its sister service whose initials spell out ave, or 'bird' in Spanish.
Unlike the Barcelona-Madrid AVE, the EVA will start from El Prat de Llobregat rather than Sants station, since El Prat is closer to the airport and more convenient for the metro, the outer suburban line or Rodalies, and for coaches and taxis.
RENFE says 25% of residents in Barcelona's metropolitan area find it quicker to get to El Prat than to Sants.
An investment of €2 million will be needed to revamp El Prat station to house a high-speed connection.
The EVA will be on track by 2019, since from the year 2020, rail travel will be open to private-sector competition and RENFE will have to work harder to attract and keep customers once it no longer holds a monopoly.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com