After Avlo, the economical version of Renfe's AVE, the low-cost train line Ouigo now arrives in Valencia, which from today will link the city from the Joaquín Sorolla Station with Madrid-Chamartín-Clara Campoamor. There will be five daily round trips, 35,630 weekly seats, and at "especially competitive" prices: they start at 9 euros, with a minimum price for children (up to 14 years old) of 5 euros, in addition to free for children under 3 years old .
"We have seen that families have been encouraged to travel with these prices," said yesterday the general director of the company in Spain, Hélène Valenzuela, who did not avoid the allusion to inflation, in view of the reduced prices offered by the company for a route that Renfe also. “We have the intention of continuing to offer high speed at affordable prices, but it will only be a fact if the right conditions are met. We fight against all odds not to have repercussions”, she assured during the opening ceremony, which yesterday brought together institutional and business representatives, such as members of the CEV and HOSBEC, among others.
At the subsequent press conference, he explained that they hope that with the new energy contract that Adif is putting out to tender, starting in April 2023, operators will be able to make purchases in the future, which allows stabilizing and lowering the cost because "in this way we remove a part of volatility, because what we want is to know at what price we are going to pay for electricity. The worst thing that happens to companies is uncertainty", explained the general director of Ouigo Spain.
This Thursday the operation was inaugurated at the Joaquín Sorolla station in València and the institutional representatives who took part did not fail to praise the liberalization that the Spanish railway service is undergoing. "Liberalization is an opportunity for a greater train service to be offered under a competitive regime," said María Luisa Domínguez, president of ADIF, present in Valencia yesterday.
He made the trip from Madrid together with the General Secretary for Infrastructure of the Ministry of Transport, Xavier Flores, who glossed over the benefits of rail transport in a context of decarbonisation and ecological transition: "Competition has to come with numbers, we will do a great good by planet and companies," he said yesterday.
The Minister of Territorial Policy, Rebeca Torró, as well as the Government delegate in the Valencian Community, Pilar Bernabé, also participated in the act, who pointed out that the context is "magnificent" due to the triggered inflation and highlighted public-private collaboration : "The liberalization process has helped us to make the infrastructures that we have all paid for more effective and that we can get more out of them and improve competitiveness," he added.
The company begins commercial operations this Friday with a weekly offer of 35,630 seats, which will connect both cities at 300 km/h in 1 hour and 50 minutes. Ouigo will operate with its new destination a total of 5 daily round trips (10 journeys), expanding its initial offer by 14,252 seats after requesting Adif to add two daily frequencies to the three included for Valencia in package C of the framework agreement of passenger rail liberalization.
