Even at a time when travel is down, competition is about to heat up on Spain's long-distance rail lines, with two new budget services on the way to complete with the long-standing AVE high-speed network.
The new contenders are both aimed at budget travelers, and will be competing with budget airlines as well as with AVE and each other.
First to roll out is AVLO, operated by Spain's national rail operator Renfe, which already operates AVE trains that link dozens of destinations including the high-volume route between Madrid and Barcelona. Initial demand was strong enough to crash the service's website in its first days.
AVLO is a pre-emptive move by Renfe, ahead of the arrival of trains operated by Ouigo, the low-cost version of France's TGV network. Ouigo will spread to Spain later this year, and is promising it will "not be like Ryanair" and will be offering big seats, cafes and more. Ouigo will start with the Barcelona-Madrid route, as well as connections to France.
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