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ARCHIVED - Outrage over change of AVE station for Alicante to Madrid train connection
The move from Atocha station will make the journey to Alicante for the capital longer and more expensive
Several local officials in Alicante have demanded an immediate meeting with the Administrator of Railway Infrastructures (Adif) to request that it reverse the decision to move the AVE station that connects Alicante, Elche and Orihuela with Madrid from the Atocha station to Chamartín, stressing that the extra half hour travel time will do untold damage to the vital rail service.
The high-speed, direct connection between Alicante province and Spain’s capital was only extended on February 28, but if the plans go ahead, Valencia AVE will also be moved to the Chamartín station in the future.
The tourism sector has slammed the decision to transfer the AVE route to a station much further north in Spain’s capital, claiming that it will affect the huge volume of tourists to Madrid who primarily originate from the south and southwest of the community.
Victoria Puch, president of the Alicante Provincial Hotel Association, has reacted cautiously, although she is also concerned about a decision that directly affects a tourist market as important as that of Madrid.
“It is true that the change from Atocha to Chamartín can encourage our connections with the north of Spain, such as the fact that Galicia can be reached in 4 hours and 30 minutes from Alicante by AVE.”
However, it will have a negative impact on budget airlines such as Ryanair and Easyjet who operate regular flights to Madrid and “base their subsequent connections at Puerta de Atocha station.”
The Valencian Community is the first national destination for the people of Madrid with 1.4 million trips per year, but once the final destination is changed to Chamartín, some 700,000 people will have to travel north of the capital to catch the Alicante train, a journey which will be longer and more expensive.
The annual turnover of Madrid tourism in the Valencian Community is one billion euros per year, of which more than half, about 550 million euros, is spent in the province of Alicante.
Image: Archive
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