The opening of the train market in Spain led to lower prices and an increase in high-speed trains. Private companies along with the Spanish railway company Renfe have greatly disrupted the market. Train ticket prices fell and the number of passengers on major roads rose sharply.
Break open the Train market In Spain it led to a sharp decline in train ticket prices and a real boom in high-speed trains. The gradual liberalization of the important corridors Madrid-Barcelona, Madrid-Levante (Valencia Region, Murcia) and Madrid-Sur (Andalusia) in recent years has shaken the market, causing a decline in train ticket prices and the number of passengers on these corridors. Routes previously dominated by aircraft have increased significantly.
The arrival of new service providers such as Erio (owned by the Italian railways Trenitalia, Air Nostrum and Globalvia), Oygo (owned by the French state railway company SNCF) and the low-cost brand Aflo (Spanish railway company Renfe) unleashed a price war. The average price paid by passengers for their tickets fell by up to 65% compared to the period before liberalization.
On the important path Madrid-BarcelonaIt is the first pass to be liberalized, and its average price this year is only 35 euros, which represents a 65% decrease compared to 2019. The average price of the pass is Madrid-Valencia It fell by 44% to 23 euros Madrid-Alicante It fell by 47% to 29 euros Madrid-Malaga The price decreased by 37% to 44 euros and for communications between Madrid, Seville and Cordoba Prices fell by 35% to 42 and 37 euros respectively.
Falling prices have led to increased use of high-speed rail over the air in important Spanish corridors. On the track Madrid-Barcelona The train has now captured nearly 80% of passengers Madrid-Valencia This is up to 90% on the connections between Madrid, Alicante, Malaga and Seville The train share is more than 75%.
A new stage of editing
After this first successful liberalization of the train market, rail operator Adif is preparing for a new phase in which other corridors will be opened to competition. For example, routes to Galicia, Murcia and the Mediterranean Corridor will soon be opened to private service providers.
Existing players in the Spanish market, such as Iryo and Ouigo, have shown interest in working on some of these new routes. In addition, new parties also began to emerge, such as the alliance between ALSA and EcoRail.
However, some established companies fear that the arrival of more competitors may make the sector unsustainable in the long term. Although they consider the current price war to be a natural strategy for starting private providers, they believe that in the medium term, trade aggressiveness must decrease to protect companies' profitability.
The emergence of high-speed trains in Spain
The high-speed train is experiencing golden times in Spain. The number of travelers is growing rapidly thanks to fierce competition between service providers and government subsidies that keep prices low. State-owned Renfe, along with AVE and AVLO, faces increasing competition from budget firms Ouigo and Iryo.
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