No-frills express AVLO opens Valencia-Madrid route with tickets from €7

A SECOND low-cost, high-speed direct rail link is set to go live – the AVLO will now run between Valencia and Madrid.

A no-frills version of the express AVE line, aimed at those who simply want to get from A to B as quickly as possible but are not concerned about creature comforts, the AVLO launched last year on the heavily-frequented commuter route between Madrid and Barcelona.

This line stops at Zaragoza and some go onto Girona and Figueres just to the north of the latter.

Now, rail board RENFE has announced the AVLO will be linking up the capital with Spain's third-largest city on the east coast from February 21.

Tickets are about to go on sale, starting at €7, or €5 for children under 14, from January 20.

They can be obtained via Renfe.com, by phone, or from ticket booths in AVE stations.

For the Valencia-Madrid line, the AVLO will run three times daily in either direction, two of which stop at the Fernando Zóbel station in Cuenca, halfway between the two cities and in Castilla-La Mancha, and at Requena-Utiel station, which serves both these towns in the far western outer limits of the province of Valencia.

Around 2,200 seats a day will be available.

The ticket-selling system automatically offers travellers the lowest price for the journey requested, and on top of the basic fee, they can then add on extras if required.

These extras include additional luggage, choice of seats, and the option to change times and dates or get a full refund for cancellation.

On the basic fare, each passenger is permitted one cabin case and one small personal bag or handbag.

The €5 child fare is for under-14s accompanied by an adult, with up to two of these reduced-price tickets per adult fee.

Large families get discounts depending upon whether they fall into the 'general' or 'special' categories, being 20% and 50% respectively.

Trains leave Valencia at 09.28, 16.15 and 21.10, from the Joaquín Sorolla AVE station – not the central Estació Nord, which is connected to the AVE terminus via a shuttle-bus – and depart from Madrid at 06.30, 12.40 and 18.40.

Meanwhile, RENFE has also announced its new Talgo trains, the AVRIL, will be on track later in 2022 – more modern and faster, they reduce journey times by an average of 20 minutes.

They are due to be incorporated into the routes connecting Madrid with north-western Galicia's six cities – its four provincial capitals of Ourense, A Coruña, Pontevedra and Lugo, as well as the 'pilgrim' cathedral city of Santiago de Compostela (A Coruña) and the famous 'Christmas lights' city of Vigo (Pontevedra) – although as yet, they are not due to be rolled out onto any other lines.

With top speeds of 330 kilometres per hour, the AVRIL will be 'the only train in the world capable of a constant pace of over 300 kilometres per hour', according to RENFE.

All the Talgo trains, AVRIL included, have entrance doors built to be level with the platform, meaning no gaps or steps for passengers embarking and a flat surface for wheelchair-users and those with wheeled suitcases when boarding.