​Spain has the largest high-speed rail network in Europe, and in 2019 it decided to allow foreign companies to enter the market to further amortize investment. The two companies are competing with the state company Renfe on the route Madrid – Barcelona, ​​650 km, 2.5 hours, the ticket price has fallen by 43%.

Spain has 4,000 km of high-speed rail lines, with the first line opening 30 years ago and nearly 300 km set to open in 2022.

In 2019, the authorities decided to liberalize the market so that third-party companies could also enter high-speed routes where Renfe was a monopoly. In 2021 the French from SNCF entered with TGV trains, and in November 2022 another company entered, Iryo, which operates Frecciarossa 1000 high-speed trains manufactured by Alstom.

The most profitable route, where a quarter of trips are made on the high-speed network, is Madrid – Barcelona.

The consequences of the penetration of foreign companies are already visible, and Le Monde writes, citing data from the Trainline app, that the average price of a Madrid-Barcelona ticket has fallen from 81 euros to 46 euros.

Iryo also sold tickets for €18 for 650 km, while before the new companies entered the market it was difficult to even find a ticket on Renfe that cost less than €50.

SNCF, through its Ouigo branch, also has direct Madrid-Valencia trains from autumn 2022 and will launch connections between the capital and southern cities such as Córdoba, Seville and Malaga in the spring.

And Iryo has big plans: it wants to reach 30% of the market on the routes on which it will be present.