The high-speed operator controlled by the French SNCF, Ouigo, confirms that it will not start linking the Spanish capital with the city of Turia until after the summer. The company has put on sale the tickets with which it will compete with from October 7. In addition, the start of its activity in Alicante is also delayed to 2023 due to the conditions necessary for approvals with the Chamartín station.
As published by elEconomista.es, due to the start-up of the new circulations and the progress of the works and homologations of the tunnel that connects the Chamartín station – from where the trains to Valencia will depart – with Torrejón de Velasco.
Despite the setback for its plans by not being able to enter service in the middle of the summer campaign as initially planned, Ouigo has already put its tickets on sale with a price ranging from 9 euros through its online channels.
As explained by the General Director of Ouigo Spain, Hélène Valenzuela, and the commercial and marketing director of Ouigo Spain, Federico Pareja, today in Valencia, the company will have three return routes each day to Valencia, that is, six daily routes between both cities. In total, Ouigo will offer a total of 21,378 weekly seats in its latest-generation double-height Alstom Euroduplex trains with 509 seats, “the trains with the highest capacity in the Spanish market”. It is the equivalent of 213 flights or 10,689 trips by car, according to the railway company.
Parejo has highlighted that they hope to achieve a similar success to that achieved, with more than 2.2 million passengers who have traveled between Madrid, Barcelona, Zaragoza and Tarragona, “increasing the use of this line to record levels” and changing “almost completely the user’s profile”, with families, young people and students.
Alicante, in 2023
The commercial director of Ouigo has explained that, after the start of operations in Valencia, the “next milestone will be to start operating towards Albacete and Alicante”, a route that “requires specific approvals because it has a different security system on the road, the ERTMS2”. For this reason, “due to the new programming” for the start of operations between Chamartín and Valencia, “the start of operations to Alicante has also had to be postponed, which will be in 2023”.
This route will have two round trips a day, four circulations a day in total. “This way we will complete the 5 round trips a day that Adif has authorized us to carry out for the Valencian Community”, he indicated.
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