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THE LOW-COST express rail service known as AVLO has finally launched in Spain, making its 'maiden voyage' on Wednesday – although its routes remain limited for the moment.
Rail board RENFE announced the creation of a no-frills version of its super-fast AVE last year, aimed at those passengers who would like to be able to cover their journeys without hanging about, but to do so on a budget.
The AVE, among other routes, connects Madrid to Valencia on the east coast – around 350 kilometres, or a three- or four-hour drive net of service-station stops – in just 90 minutes, but it is a much more expensive form of travel than the cheap Larga Distancia, the 'Long-Distance' or 'snail rail' which takes over six hours with a change in the middle.
Enter AVLO, which is effectively the AVE but only the rail ticket; for extras automatically included in the AVE service, such as on-board WiFi, an additional fee applies.
At present, though, the newly-launched budget express only covers the route from Madrid to Barcelona – the busiest in the country by any means of transport, especially for commuters.
The first-ever AVLO train left Figueres-Vilafant station at 05.35 on Wednesday morning, stopping at Barcelona Sants and heading for Madrid's Atocha station, and to give an idea of how regular and efficient RENFE's express connections are, a second train in the opposite direction left the capital for Figueres (Girona province) via Barcelona at 06.20.
Prices for a one-way ticket from end to end start at €7 – lower than the originally-quoted minimum fare of €9 – up to a maximum of €65 for peak travel times.
Add-ons, paid for separately, include extra checked-in luggage – the standard fare covers one free cabin bag and a small personal bag – and cancellation or changes of time or date of travel, which would normally come as part of the package with the AVE.
Seats are available with plug sockets for charging mobile phones, laptops and tablets, and with a WiFi connection; although there is no buffet car like on the AVE, the trains are fitted with vending machines.
Children under 14, who must be accompanied by a person aged at least 18, travel for a basic ticket price of €5 one way, with a maximum of two child-rate tickets per adult, although for 'large families', being three or more children per adult, discounts on the full price of up to 20% are available or up to 50% for concessions.
The Madrid-Barcelona route runs four times daily in either direction, stopping en route in Guadalajara, Calatayud (Zaragoza province), Zaragoza, Lleida and Tarragona, with one train daily in either direction continuing to or starting from Girona and Figueres.
RENFE says it will almost certainly consider running more frequent connections if there is sufficient demand.
The AVLO takes the same length of time as the AVE to cover the distance between Barcelona and Madrid – two-and-a-half hours, given that both are capable of reaching speeds of up to 330 kilometres per hour – leaving the former at 06.40, 10.00, 17.25 and 21.10, and leaving Madrid at 06.20, 10.30, 18.00 and 19.30.
By setting the entire train up as 'tourist class' – no first-class seating like on the AVE – the AVLO has been able to increase passenger capacity by 20%, to a total of 438 seats per journey, although a new fleet of trains is set to be launched in the first quarter of 2022 with space for up to 581 passengers, doubling to 1,162 with double-component convoys.
Also over 2022, a service is expected to launch at some point between Madrid and Sevilla.
All trains are powered by 100% renewable energy sources, RENFE confirms.
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