Avlo (Spanish pronunciation:['aβlo], short for Alta Velocidad LowCost 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
[edit]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[3] 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.[4][5][6] Avlo was set to run between the stations Madrid Atocha, Zaragoza Delicias and Barcelona Sants.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9] Since 28 March 2023, four daily services between Madrid and Alicante are offered and since 1 June 2023 Avlo connects Madrid to Andalucia by offering four daily services, two on the Seville-Madrid connection and two on the Malaga-Madrid connection. [10][11] Since 10 December 2023 Renfe included a new daily service to Murcia via Alicante stopping in all intermediate stations.[12] On 22 July 2024 additional services to the regions of Asturias and Galicia introduced connecting Madrid to Gijón, A Coruña and VigoonS-106 trains.[13]
The Avlo service consists of modified purple-coloured Talgo AVE trains. They are using S-112 trains upgraded to 438 seats, while S-106 trains are used for the Madrid–Barcelona, Madrid–València, Madrid–Alicante, Madrid–Gijón, Madrid–A Coruña, Madrid–Vigo and Murcia–Madrid–Valladolid services with capacity varying from 507 to 581 seats, both in all-second class configuration.[15][2][13] Renfe has reported it is pricing tickets of the Avlo as low as €10 and €7 for the promotion of the new S-106 trains, compared to the lowest offer of €48 for the normal AVE ticket for Madrid and Barcelona.[16][2][13]
