Following on from the Paris-Lyon route last December, the "red arrows" - the Frecciarossa high-speed trains used by Trenitalia - should enter the Spanish market on 25 Novemberaccording to some local media. In Spain, where the opening up of the rail market is more than a reality, in addition to the high-speed trains operated by the national company Renfe and its low-cost subsidiary Avlo, SNCF has also launched a number of new services. its Ouigo offer last year. Since March 2021, its low-cost TGVs have been running on the Madrid-Barcelona route via Zaragoza and Tarragona, a network that will be extended to the Madrid-Valencia route from 7 October, pending its extension to Seville and Malaga in 2023. " With two million passengers carried in one year, the service is now a success." said SNCF recently when announcing its half-year results.
From Madrid to Barcelona and Zaragoza in the north, from the Spanish capital to Seville, Malaga, Cordoba, Valencia and Alicante in the south: with its company named iryoThe aim is then to move on to the Basque country and Galicia before, why not, expanding onto international routes, with iryo supporting the creation of a high-speed line between Madrid and Lisbon, for example.
This is the final stage before the train is certified and ready for use on the Spanish rail network, technical tests began in mid-August between Madrid and BarcelonaThe first tickets are expected to go on sale between September and October. The company plans to offer more than 80 daily connections from Madrid, including 32 daily connections on the route between the Spanish capital and Barcelona. Passengers will be able to enjoy the comfort of the high-speed trains used by the company in Italy and France, the Frecciarossa 1000s built by Hitachi. Around twenty brand new TGVs have been ordered, trains with recognised sustainable qualities saving 80 % of carbon dioxide per passenger per journey.
" Our trains will be equipped with intelligent WiFi, a content platform, a cafeteria service and a highly innovative catering service." In 2021, Victor Bañares, Managing Director of Ilsa, the consortium behind the launch of the iryo airline, told the Spanish magazine Expansion. In June, iryo announced that its service provider would be Gate Gourmet. Another element envisaged at the launch of the project, but for which no details have yet been revealed, is the development of thea product designed for business travellers and another for leisure passengers, all wrapped up in a dynamic pricing strategy.
In parallel with its arrival in France, to gain a foothold in the Spanish market, the railway group Ferrovie della Stato Italiane, parent company of Trenitalia, has joined forces with a subsidiary of Iberia, the regional airline Air Nostrum. The presence of this partner in the capital of the Ilsa consortium bears witness to the potential synergies between rail and air travel which iryo intends to exploit. As it did recently in Rome with the opening of new rail links to Naples and Florence at Fiumicino airport. Trenitalia hopes eventually to add Madrid-Barajas airport to its network. " With a third line or a dedicated corridor; but we need to get to the airport because we want to be the key supplier of travellers on intercontinental airlines." said Victor Bañares in the aforementioned interview.
In addition to these multimodal ambitions, this arrival in Spain will also strengthen the Italian operator's internationalisation strategy. In addition to France, Ferrovie della Stato Italiane is also present in the United Kingdom with the Avanti West Coast and c2c trains, and in Greece with Hellenic Train. In Germany, FS Italiane owns the regional carrier Netinera and in the Netherlands the road operator Qbuzz.
