- EDITIONS:
Spanish News Today
Murcia Today
Andalucia Today
PROPERTY SEARCH
ARCHIVED - Alicante-Madrid AVE trains moved to new Charmartin stations
All low-cost trips from Alicante and Valencia to the capital will end at Chamartín and not Atocha
After months of speculation, it has been confirmed that the vast majority of AVE trains running from the Valencian Community to the Spanish capital will reach their final destination at the newly-decorated Chamartín Clara Campoamor station, which will take over from Madrid’s Atocha station. A few routes operated by Renfe will continue to use the old station but the low-cost services of AVLO, Iryo and Ouigo will all be transferred to Chamartín.
When the move was first suggested, several local officials opposed it, claiming that the extra half hour it will take AVE travellers from Alicante, Elche and Orihuela to reach the new Chamartín station will cause untold damage to the vital rail service.
However, now that the decision has been made, the opening of a new 7.3-kilometre tunnel in the coming weeks means that most of the high-speed trains from Alicante and Valencia will be transferred.
Operator Iryo expects customers to quickly “discover the benefits of the station’s location,” which is close to the financial centre and just ten minutes away from the Puerta del Sol. The company has also highlighted the huge financial investment in reforming Chamartín, which aims to position it as “one of the most avant-garde in Spain.”
The move from the Atocha station is only a temporary one, but the Spanish government has committed to opening a through station in the high-speed tunnel to Chamartín within the next seven years; when this is completed, all rail operators travelling from Alicante and Valencia will have the option at stopping at either station.
For the time being, however, Renfe will be the only company whose eight trains still stop at the Atocha station; all others will have no choice but to travel on to Chamartín.
Image 1: Renfe
Image 2: Raquel Sanchez
staff.inc.ali
Sign up for the Spanish News Today Editors Roundup Weekly Bulletin and get an email with all the week’s news straight to your inbox
Special offer: Subscribe now for 25% off (36.95 euros for 48 Bulletins)
OR
you can sign up to our FREE weekly roundup!
Read some of our recent bulletins:
25% Discount Special Offer subscription:
36.95€ for 48 Editor’s Weekly News Roundup bulletins!
Please CLICK THE BUTTON to subscribe.
(List price 3 months 12 Bulletins)
Read more stories from around Spain:
