Spain to launch the EVA, or 'budget' AVE fast rail service

Rail board RENFE hopes to attract long-distance travellers who normally opt for much cheaper means such as Bla Bla Car, and typical prices will be about 20% to 25% lower than the usual Alta Velocidad Española ('Spanish High-Speed', or AVE) tickets.

The budget version has been called the 'EVA' – AVE backwards, and a woman's name, according to minister for public works Íñigo de la Serna – meaning it is not an acronym for anything else, unlike its sister service whose initials spell out ave, or 'bird' in Spanish.

Unlike the Barcelona-Madrid AVE, the EVA will start from El Prat de Llobregat rather than Sants station, since El Prat is closer to the airport and more convenient for the metro, the outer suburban line or Rodalies, and for coaches and taxis.

RENFE says 25% of residents in Barcelona's metropolitan area find it quicker to get to El Prat than to Sants.

An investment of €2 million will be needed to revamp El Prat station to house a high-speed connection.

The EVA will be on track by 2019, since from the year 2020, rail travel will be open to private-sector competition and RENFE will have to work harder to attract and keep customers once it no longer holds a monopoly.

Once the EVA starts on the Madrid-Barcelona route, it will run five times daily in each direction and is expected to transport up to 1.05 million passengers a year, attracting 400,000 away from their cars and an additional quarter of a million who would not normally travel so far because they do not wish to drive and all bar the slowest trains are too expensive.

Regular passengers will attract a 'frequent traveller' deal on ticket prices, and RENFE is considering offering a flat-rate fee.

The aim is for the EVA to link up with all other, smaller transport services and even to allow passengers to buy a blanket ticket for the whole lot, meaning they can combine the train with the metro, bus, Rodalies, taxis and even hired cars and literally pay for door-to-door travel.

On-board wi-fi, a mobile phone App giving travel and tourism information in real time, and a paperless ticket system – electronic travel passes with a biometric recognition system – are some of the features of the EVA.

Other on-board services include a children's playroom, group carriages, and a multi-purpose carriage to replace the usual café-bar coach.

Pets are welcome, as are all types of non-standard luggage such as bicycles and skis.

Three AVE trains will be remodelled, giving them carriages with tables for up to six for families and groups travelling together, meaning passenger capacity will increase from 316 per train to 343.