Spain’s Renfe Alta Velocidad (AVE), the country's high-speed train operator, has launched two new routes linking Barcelona and Madrid to key cities in France.
Tickets for the high-speed route between Barcelona and Lyon went on sale on July 13th. Services on the second new route between Barcelona, Madrid and Marseille will start on July 28th.
The international services see Renfe AVE launch its solo operations in France, linking 17 destinations on both sides of the border.
Passengers can experience the Spanish high-speed service between
French destinations including Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Avignon,
Béziers, Aix-en-Provence and Narbonne.
With the new AVE route it will be possible to travel from Barcelona to Nimes in three hours; between Figueres and
Montpellier in two hours; between Barcelona and Avignon in four hours; from Girona to
Marseille in four hours; from Madrid to Perpignan in four hours 30 minutes;
and between Zaragoza and Nimes in five hours and 25 minutes.
Tickets for travel within France are currently being sold for just €9 to remain competitive in the French market. Rail travel is a growing competitor for air travel with operators citing a range of benefits including a lower carbon footprint than air.
Published earlier this year, American Express Global Business Travel's Ground Monitor 2023-2024 noted: “Persuaded by rail’s sustainability credentials,
governments in Austria, Germany, Spain, and Scandinavia have been
looking at legal measures to encourage travellers to move from the plane
to the train. In May this year France went a step further by enacting
legislation that bans domestic flights that can be replaced by a train
journey of under two and half hours.”
Barcelona to Lyon service details
The service between Barcelona and Lyon will start with journeys from Friday to Monday but will roll-out to Monday to Sunday in September.
It will connect Barcelona Sants, Girona, Figueres Vilafant, Perpignan, Narbonne, Béziers, Montpellier-St-Roch, Nîmes, Valence TGV and Lyon Part Dieu.
It will depart from Barcelona at 08.22 returning from Lyon at 14.30 and arriving into Barcelona at 19.32. The journey will take five hours.
Madrid-Marseille service details
The service on the Madrid-Marseille route will initially run Friday-Monday and then from October will have 28 weekly services Monday to Sunday.
The route will connect Guadalajara Yebes, Zaragoza Delicias, Camp de Tarragona, Barcelona Sants, Girona, Figueres Vilafant, Perpignan, Narbonne, Béziers, Montpellier-St-Roch, Nîmes, Avignon-TGV, Aix-en-Provence TGV and Marseille-St Charles.
It will leave Madrid at 13.25 and make 13 stops arriving in Marseille at 21.30. The train will depart Marseille at 08.03 arriving in Barcelona at 15.45.
Last week BTN Europe also reported that SNCF Voyageurs and SNCB,
the national train operators of France and Belgium, are considering the
launch of new services between Paris and Brussels that would complement
existing high-speed operations.