A HIGH-SPEED, low-cost train line now operating in Spain has put tickets on sale for the Madrid-Valencia route for just €9 each way.
Ouigo, owned by French national rail board SNCF, became the first-ever train company to operate in Spain other than RENFE, launching south of the Pyrénées last year.
Its first route was the popular commuter trek, between Madrid and Barcelona, starting on May 10, 2021.
RENFE, the Spanish State rail board, had held a monopoly since its creation, but 2021 saw train travel in the country open up to private competition for the first time.
Now, the second Ouigo connection is set to go live, with three trains in either direction per day.
Latest-generation dual-width Alstom Euroduplex trains, each of which have space for 509 passengers, will link up Madrid's Chamartín-Clara Campoamor station with Spain's third-largest city on the east coast.
It will make use of the new tunnel joining Chamartín with Puerta de Atocha and Torrejón de Velasco which opened on Friday.
With the three-times-daily trains in both directions, Ouigo will be able to transport up to a total of 21,378 passengers between the two cities – a figure it describes as the equivalent of 213 airline flights or 10,689 car journeys, based upon two people per vehicle.
Tickets at €9 for a single trip between Madrid and Valencia, or Valencia and Madrid, include one piece of hand luggage and one checked-in suitcase, plus a buffet carriage.
For an additional €9, travellers can get a 'OuigoPlus' ticket, allowing them a choice of extra-large seats, two suitcases rather than one, and unlimited connection to the OuiFun entertainment platform with films, series, podcasts, games and online magazines at the touch of a button.
Otherwise, passengers who buy the standard €9 ticket can opt to increase this by €3 to get on-board WiFi throughout the journey.
The buffet carriage on a Ouigo train, accessible for those on the basic €9 ticket as well as all other traveller packages (photo: Ouigo)
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