The railway operator Iryo has started this Friday the connection between Alicante, Albacete and Madrid, with four journeys a day (two in each direction). In this way, it completes the high-speed offer between these destinations.
The inauguration of the new line was held this Friday, after the new line train from Chamartín arrived at the Alacant-Terminal station at around 10:10 a.m. It was attended by the mayor of Alicante, Luis Barcala, the vice mayor, Mari Carmen Sánchez, the general secretary for Infrastructures, Javier Flores, and the general director and CEO of Iryo, Simone Gorini.
Iryo connects Alicante and Madrid with tickets that start at 18 euros, with its own gastronomy brand that will serve on trains and an offer to “take care of people”, which they seek to differentiate them from low cost companies.
The railway operator will begin to operate with four frequencies a day, a figure that they hope to increase in the future. In addition, each train has a total capacity of 430 passengers, with which they aspire to transport 900 passengers one way and 900 return.
The company has designed four classes of travel to meet different customer needs –Infinite, Singular Only YOU, Singular and Initial– and the trains have free Wi-Fi access and the possibility of 5G connection.
Gorini has valued the liberalization model for high-speed trains, which he considers works, and has been “excited” about the start of operations between Madrid and Alicante, which he considers a “great opportunity”.
“Traveling with Iryo is a very high-level experience,” Gorini stated, while emphasizing the company’s punctuality. The company has its own gastronomy brand, called Haizea, and they serve hot and cold dishes and menus, as well as sweets.
On the other hand, Gorini has lamented that the “main problem” in the rail sector is costs, for which he has called for an “effort” to lower Adif’s fees, among other reasons, because it is a “free market “.
For his part, the General Secretary for Infrastructure, Javier Flores, described Spain as “exemplary” in the High Speed ??liberalization model, something that he believes other countries will copy because “it is a successful model.”
Barcala has highlighted that the offer “is extended to the maximum possible by the connectivity with the city of Alicante”. “That is the competitive advantage of attracting more tourism and that we Alicante residents also have more connectivity with the rest of the destinations”, he expressed.
Likewise, it has valued that “large companies and large operators bet on this destination.” “It is an accolade for the policy that we have followed to promote the city as a tourist destination and the city itself”, he highlighted.
For her part, the vice mayor, Mari Carmen Sánchez, has indicated that the arrival of Iryo “multiplies the possibilities offered by Alicante”, a city that, with all the companies currently operating, expects to attract 2,000 passengers a day. “We are in luck, because the wealth of Alicante multiplies with the arrival of Iryo to our city”, she has maintained.
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