2023-07-14 12:18:40
“Be careful when leaving”. Thursday, more than 300 travelers from Lyon Part-Dieu boarded the Renfe train to Barcelona. An almost complete train for the launch of this line exclusively managed by this Spanish company after seven months of suspension due to the end of the collaboration with the SNCF.
“I’m very happy that they have put this line back into circulation,” says Maud, who is leaving to visit her brother with her baby. For her, it is the “most practical” mode of transport, in addition to being “ecological”. Same observation for Victoria and Maxime, who were looking for a place to spend their holidays “without taking the plane”. “Five hours to reach Barcelona, it’s unbeatable! “, insists this 28-year-old Lyonnaise.
Soon a Paris-Lyon operated by Renfe?
Another significant argument: the price. To celebrate this return, promotional rates have been put on sale. The price started at 29 euros for the complete route between the capital of Gaul and that of Catalonia and at 9 euros to connect the seven French stations served between them. Something to seduce passengers! “It’s completely more beneficial. It costs me less than leaving Ambérieu-en-Bugey and coming to Lyon, ”says Fanny, who usually takes her car to go to Barcelona. Marilyn didn’t hesitate either. While traveling through Europe with her family, she was thinking of taking the plane. “Almost 200 euros difference”, she underlines. In total, in three weeks of sales, 43,000 tickets were sold.
Until September, Renfe offers a daily round trip from Friday to Monday. The same goes for the Marseille-Madrid line which will be launched on July 28. By autumn, the frequency will reach 28 weekly trips.
After the south of France, the Spanish company wants to conquer the capital. The operator would like to connect Paris to Lyon, before the 2024 Olympic Games. A highly coveted link, because it is very profitable, already operated by the Italian Trenitalia since December 2021. For travelers, this competition “is a good thing”. According to Anna, “it may be able to push the SNCF to change its methods and practices” and especially “its prices” which remain “very high”. According to BFM TV, a year after the arrival of Italian trains on the Paris-Lyon line, prices were down 8%.
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