• Renfe receives the "Spanish Company of the year" award for rolling out its AVE (high-speed) services in France

• Renfe rolled out its operations in France five months ago, with trains travelling to Marseille and Lyon. More than 250,000 passengers have already travelled on Renfe's trains, with an average occupancy rate of 80%.

The year 2023 has been the year of Renfe's debut as a competitor in the French railway market. A milestone for the Spanish company and a turning point in its international growth, allowing the company to receive the "Spanish Company of the year" award from the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in France (COCEF). Raül Blanco, Chairman of Renfe, received the award yesterday in Paris and confirmed the company's aim: to reach Paris and grow exponentially in the French market next year.

13 July was the first time that a Spanish operator provided commercial services on an AVE (high-speed) train beyond Perpignan. Renfe managed to roll out its AVE (high-speed) operations alone in the French market in record time by completing all the technical, operational and administrative procedures with its own personnel. The operational deployment process was rolled out in stages during the summer to guarantee the stability of the service, until reaching 28 weekly train operations.

After rolling out its services, Renfe has confirmed with the French infrastructure manager (SNCF Résau) the schedules to expand its operations to Paris and multiply its services in France by four in 2024.

Renfe's operational plan rolled out in France contemplates going from the current four daily operations to 16 AVE (high-speed) trains per day, competing in the main French mobility corridor as a new player, which connects Paris with Lyon and Marseille, and increasing international routes between Spain and France to connect Paris and Barcelona with AVE (high-speed) trains, as well as Lyon and Barcelona and Marseille with Barcelona and Madrid.

Gare de Lyon will the main station for Renfe's AVE (high-speed) trains in Paris. In addition, the company will expand the list of stations in French territory by adding three new stops on different routes: Lyon Perrache, Montpellier Sud de France and Nîmes Port-du-Gard.

In total, the AVE (high-speed) train will connect 17 destinations on both sides of the border and will serve 20 stations.

High-capacity trains
Renfe's new operations in France will result in an exponential increase in capacity thanks to the commissioning of the new AVE (high-speed) S-106 trains, with more than 500 seats per train. With the scheduled plan of operations, Renfe will offer 2.7 million seats per year. With an average occupancy rate of 80%, like the one achieved so far in France, this translates into an annual demand for more than 2.1 million AVE (high-speed) train tickets.

The train operation schedules for 2024 have been confirmed for the operational deployment plan, starting 1 September. The schedules were calculated according to the progress of the certification process of AVE (high-speed) S-106 rolling stock currently being carried out by Talgo in France, with the support and advice of Renfe.

Satisfaction with the start of operations
Renfe closes 2023 with four consolidated daily AVE (high-speed) services, connecting Spain (Madrid, Zaragoza and Barcelona) to France (Lyon and Marseille) with 9,000 weekly seats. Currently, the global offer of international AVE (high-speed) services connects 16 destinations and has recovered direct train connections between the south of France and Spain.

Renfe started to operate in the French market five months ago and it has managed to consolidate its operations in a new infrastructure of great complexity over this period, disseminating the AVE (high-speed) services to the French public (which has been effective, proof of which is the high percentage of international travellers on these routes), establish a dynamic pricing system that guarantees the sustainability of the service and on which more than 250,000 passengers have already travelled, with an average occupancy rate of over 80%, putting up the "no vacancy" sign on key dates.

The culmination of this year has been the "Spanish company of the year" award given by the Spanish-French Chamber of Commerce to Renfe for being the best Spanish company in France this year. Raül Blanco, Chairman of Renfe, received the award at a ceremony held on 13 December in Paris and stressed the importance of Renfe's commitment to becoming a benchmark operator in France.

"We aim to consolidate our presence in France and expand our services, always with quality in mind. "We want national and foreign passengers to enjoy the experience of travelling on Renfe's trains across France, to perceive the quality of our services and to make them want to travel with Renfe again and again", he concluded.

ANNEX: Renfe's current services in detail

The AVE (high-speed) service between Barcelona and Lyon connects the stations of Barcelona Sants, Girona, Figueres Vilafant, Perpignan, Narbonne, Montpellier-St-Roch, Nîmes, Valence TGV and Lyon Part Dieu. Departing from Barcelona at 8:22 and returning from Lyon at 14:30 in the evening. The travel time from the start of the route to the end will be five hours.

SPAIN-> FRANCE

FRANCE -> SPAIN

The AVE (high-speed) service on the Madrid-Marseille route connects the intermediate stations of Guadalajara Yebes, Zaragoza Delicias, Camp de Tarragona, Barcelona Sants, Girona, Figueres Vilafant, Perpignan, Narbonne, Béziers, Montpellier-St-Roch, Nîmes, Avignon-TGV, Aix-en-Provence TGV and Marseille-St Charles.

Between Barcelona and Nimes, a route shared by the two lines, Renfe already has four trains, allowing a combination of schedules and travel times, making AVE (high-speed) trains particularly appealing to passengers on both sides of the border.

The international connection of AVE (high-speed) has the following travel times: Barcelona-Nimes in 3 hours, Figueras-Montpellier in 2 hours, Barcelona-Avignon in 4 hours, Girona-Marseille 4 hours, Madrid-Perpignan in 4 hours and 30 minutes, or Zaragoza-Nimes in 5 hours and 25 minutes, with the advantage of travelling from city centre to city centre and with the services, reliability and comfort of the AVE (high-speed) service.