Avlo (Spanish pronunciation:['aβlo], short for Alta Velocidad Low Cost literally "No Frills High Speed" ) is a low-costhigh-speed rail service operated by Spanish national rail company Renfe, offering services connecting major Spanish cities such as Madrid, Zaragoza, Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante and others on specific high-speed lines.
History
The AVLO services are operated by rebuilt and repainted class 112 trains. Here a test train in March 2021 near Alt Penedès (Catalonia)
Based on the popularity of the French low-cost high-speed rail service Ouigo that was introduced in 2013 by French national rail company SNCF, and keen to encourage train travel on the Spanish high-speed rail network, Renfe was interested in setting up their own such budget service. The service was announced on 6 February 2018 by the then Minister of Public WorksÍñigo de la Serna. It was provisionally named "eva", the name of the Renfe's own high-speed train service, AVE, spelt backwards[1] and was aimed to be operational by the first quarter of 2019.
The plan was for trains to run between Madrid and less frequently used AVE stations in Catalonia, namely Camp de Tarragona and El Prat de Llobregat, the latter only around 10 km from Barcelona's Sants terminus. This concept resembles the strategy of Avlo's potential low-cost competitor Ouigo, which goes to Tourcoing rather than the larger station Lille-Europe.
However, after a series of delays and with the prospect of new competitors operating as of late 2020, such as the airline Air Nostrum, the Italian rail company Trenitalia, and Ouigo, a subsidiary of French rail company SNCF, Renfe felt obliged to revive the plans for a low-cost rail service of their own. Renfe went back to the drawing board and new sets of proposals for the service were announced on 11 December 2019, with services planned to begin on 6 April 2020 during the 2020 Easter holidays.[2][3][4] Avlo was set to run between the stations Madrid Atocha, Zaragoza Delicias and Barcelona Sants.[5] In contrast with earlier plans, the service was to stop in Zaragoza rather than Tarragona.
On 15 March 2020, Renfe announced that the launch of the service would be postponed until further notice on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] Customers who had paid a promotional fare of €5 were given the option to travel at a later date, while non-promotional tickets were refunded in full.
Avlo services between Madrid, Barcelona and Figueres on the French border commenced on 23 June 2021. Three daily services in each direction run between Madrid and Barcelona, while a fourth service stops in Guadalajara, Calatayud, Saragossa, Lleida, Tarragona, Barcelona, Girona and terminates in Figueres. As in the previous attempt to launch this service, promotional ticket prices start at €5. Six return services between Madrid and Valencia commenced on 21 February 2022.[7] From 28 March 2023, four new daily services started between Madrid and Alicante and from 10 December 2023 Renfe introduces a new daily service to Murcia via Alicante stopping in all intermediate stations.[8] Renfe also aims to run trains from Madrid to Seville and Malaga.[9]
Services
As of 2023[update] Renfe offers the following Avlo services:[10]
Madrid Chamartín–Alicante via Cuenca, Albacete and Villena.
Madrid Chamartín–Murcia, via Cuenca, Albacete, Villena, Alicante, Elche and Orihuela.
Background
The Avlo service consists of modified purple-coloured Talgo AVE trains. They are using S 112 trains upgraded to 438 seats, and will use the future S 106 trains with 581 seats, both in all-second class configuration.[11] Renfe has reported it is pricing tickets of the Avlo as low as €10, compared to the lowest offer of €48 for the normal AVE ticket for Madrid and Barcelona.[12]
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