The railway operator Renfe has announced its intention to quadruple the capacity offer for AVE links with France, after having managed to sell half a million tickets since July 2023, when it entered the French market.
After eight months of operation in France, the next step will be to multiply the offer by four with the entry into service of new high-capacity AVE s-106 trains (with more than 500 seats per train), the extension of circulations to Paris and the increase in international and national connections in the French market.
Renfe points out that the bulk of demand is concentrated in the longest distance, which makes it possible to optimize the use of the offer and add that the AVE is the best connection at this time between the south of France and Catalonia.
Circulations four days a week
The Spanish operator debuted on these routes in July 2023 with circulation four days a week and gradually expanded the offer, which was manufactured in October, with daily circulation on the two corridors.
As reported by the company, which operates two routes (Barcelona-Lyon and Madrid-Marseille) that connect 15 destinations in both countries, the average occupancy on these trains reaches 80%. The Barcelona-Lyon and Barcelona-Montpellier routes are the most popular, followed by those linking Madrid and Montpellier and Barcelona and Marseille.
The two lines partially share their route. On the common section, between Nimes and Barcelona, Renfe offers four AVE trains every day that also serve the intermediate stations of Girona, Figueres, Perpignan, Narbonne and Montpellier.
Trips to France
The Lyon AVE also serves the French connection hub of Valence and the Marseille AVE to the tourist destinations of Avignon and Aix-en-Provence, in France; and to the cities of Tarragona, Zaragoza and Madrid.
The Barcelona-Paris link has yet to start, where it intends to arrive before the Olympic Games, which will be held this summer.
