Opening up the rail market to competition is beginning to take shape. It will be official from 12 December 2020, and will arouse the ambitions of SNCF's competitors in France, such as Trenitalia and Thello, but it will also open up prospects for development outside France for the French company.
The SNCF recently announced the launch of its Low-cost TGV Ouigo in Spain from 15 March 2021, on the Madrid-Barcelona route. Also serving Zaragoza and Tarragona, several daily services are planned.
" Our arrival between Madrid and Barcelona marks the start of a new era in high-speed travel. The aim is to double the number of passengers who will choose this environmentally-friendly mode of transport over the next ten years. Ouigo, high speed at low prices "said Hélène Valenzuela, Chairman of Ouigo Spain, which has a fleet of 14 Alstom Euroduplex double-deck trains.
The Ouigo Spain offer should be extended to other towns in the months following 15 March, continuing from Madrid to Cordoba, Seville and Malaga on the one hand, and Alicante and Valencia on the other.
