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ARCHIVED - Renfe slashes season ticket prices on commuter lines across Alicante province
The train operator is offering a 35% discount on the Alicante-Elche-Orihuela and Alcoy-Xàtiva lines
Train operator Renfe is cutting the cost of season tickets by more than a third in Alicante province to compensate for problems with delays, cancellations and a reduction of service due to the Covid pandemic.
Passengers who regularly use the Renfe commuter lines between Alicante-Elche-Orihuela and Alcoy-Xàtiva can request a refund of 35% of the cost of the monthly season ticket between January and April, following an agreement between the Minister of Transport, Raquel Sánchez and Valencia's President Ximo Puig.
A meeting was held on Monday to address service problems and delays, some without prior notice, since the beginning of the health crisis, and by work carried out on the Mediterranean Corridor.
The express refund tickets will also be maintained in the event a train is cancelled or delayed for 15 minutes or more.
The Alicante-Elche-Orihuela line is used by around 600,000 passengers a year, mostly students and workers, and the Alcoy-Xátiva line registered 133,000 passengers prior to the pandemic in 2019.
During the meeting, the Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Raquel Sánchez, presented a plan of shock measures for the improvement of local railway network services in the Valencia region that will allow the "drastic elimination of the suppressions and cancellations".
She assured that the Ministry of Transport is committed to progressively recovering the frequencies prior to the pandemic, so that 100% of services will be restored by June, bus services at peak times or in the event of cancellations will be reinforced, and a 35% reduction in limited and unlimited monthly season tickets will be offered to what is estimated to be more than 30,000 passengers.
Monthly meetings between the Ministry and Renfe will be held to monitor progress, and more than 60 people will be hired at around 30 train stations to improve facilities and the express ticket refund system for cancellations or delays.
Valencia president, Ximo Puig, admitted after Monday's meeting that the regional government is "deeply concerned" about the operation of the local rail network and the fact that between 2006 to 2019 the service in the region lost 36% of its passengers.
He accepted that the service has suffered from "historical problems", but said this should not be used as an excuse and that the government must continue to do "as much as possible" to guarantee a "decent" service for the public.
Image: Renfe
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