The 15th of June has been set as a day in which history will be made for the Spanish rail network, as the first passenger trains between Alicante and Madrid will travel at speeds of 300 kilometres per hour.
Following extensive testing of the line´s safety equipment, train operator RENFE has now released passenger tickets for the new, faster service, and increased the number of trains each day.
There will now by 22 trains per day, 11 in each direction, which will provide an additional 500,000 seats per year, an increase of 24% over the current service, what’s more, there will be no price increase to passengers, and the launch has been timed to coincide with one of the busiest in the Alicante area, when the celebrations of San Juan take place.
The number of regular seats available on a daily basis will average at 7,100, compared to the current 5,736m with the journey time seeing 15 minutes shaved off, resulting in the shortest journey time taking just 2 hours and 5 minutes. Of the 22 daily services, 18 will be served by the AVE and the remaining 4 by the ALVIA trains.
Since its launch on the 18th of June, 2013, the demand for seats has grown steadily, reaching an average occupancy of 80%. The AVE between Madrid and Alicante, with stops in Villena, Albacete and Cuenca, has reached over 6,000 passengers on certain key days, resulting in an increase in service and capacity to deal with the demand.
Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/43781/
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