HIGH-SPEED rail services between Spain's largest two cities and France have been snapped up by half a million passengers in less than nine months, reveals the transport board.
Free on-board Wi-Fi on Barcelona-Madrid AVE trains
01/04/2019
FREE Wi-Fi is now available on seven in 10 of the high-speed AVE trains between Madrid and Barcelona from today (Monday) and expected to be rolled out to the remainder in the next few months.
Connections linking Catalunya with other destinations, such as those in Andalucía, will also be able to offer free Wi-Fi on some trains, although as yet it has not been confirmed when this will extend across the entire AVE network.
Just over two years ago, free Wi-Fi was launched on the AVE link serving Sevilla, the first of these fast trains to be launched in Spain, and over the next year it was installed in the AVE trains serving Valencia and Castellón on the east coast and Málaga on the Costa del Sol.
The Barcelona-Madrid link is the one with the most passenger traffic and is in direct competition with the so-called ‘air bridge’, a regular commuter-flight connection between Spain’s two largest cities operated by Iberia.
Although the AVE and the flight link are in competition, neither suffers from lack of demand as the journey between the capital and the country’s second-largest metropolitan area is the busiest in Spain.
Rail board RENFE says the on-board Wi-Fi will benefit in region of 4.3 million passengers a year.
Two different types of internet connection are offered on board AVE rains via the ‘PlayRENFE’ platform – a ‘basic’ and a ‘premium’, both of which are free of charge.
The ‘premium’ Wi-Fi link offers entertainment and media content – music, TV series, films, e-books, and live television footage including football matches.
RENFE says its internet service is ‘far wider’ than that provided by other rail operators worldwide, and comes in response to long-running requests by the 22 million rail passengers who use the AVE every year, many of whom are business travellers.
Its drive to ‘go digital’ is in anticipation of having to work harder to retain customers within just over 18 months: from December 2020, rail services will be open to private companies, meaning the State transport board will be in competition for the first time in its history.
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FREE Wi-Fi is now available on seven in 10 of the high-speed AVE trains between Madrid and Barcelona from today (Monday) and expected to be rolled out to the remainder in the next few months.
Connections linking Catalunya with other destinations, such as those in Andalucía, will also be able to offer free Wi-Fi on some trains, although as yet it has not been confirmed when this will extend across the entire AVE network.
Just over two years ago, free Wi-Fi was launched on the AVE link serving Sevilla, the first of these fast trains to be launched in Spain, and over the next year it was installed in the AVE trains serving Valencia and Castellón on the east coast and Málaga on the Costa del Sol.
The Barcelona-Madrid link is the one with the most passenger traffic and is in direct competition with the so-called ‘air bridge’, a regular commuter-flight connection between Spain’s two largest cities operated by Iberia.
Although the AVE and the flight link are in competition, neither suffers from lack of demand as the journey between the capital and the country’s second-largest metropolitan area is the busiest in Spain.
Rail board RENFE says the on-board Wi-Fi will benefit in region of 4.3 million passengers a year.
Two different types of internet connection are offered on board AVE rains via the ‘PlayRENFE’ platform – a ‘basic’ and a ‘premium’, both of which are free of charge.
The ‘premium’ Wi-Fi link offers entertainment and media content – music, TV series, films, e-books, and live television footage including football matches.
RENFE says its internet service is ‘far wider’ than that provided by other rail operators worldwide, and comes in response to long-running requests by the 22 million rail passengers who use the AVE every year, many of whom are business travellers.
Its drive to ‘go digital’ is in anticipation of having to work harder to retain customers within just over 18 months: from December 2020, rail services will be open to private companies, meaning the State transport board will be in competition for the first time in its history.
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You may also be interested in ...
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