Spanish rail riders are getting some new lower-cost competition for the country’s main rail operator Renfe as discount rival Iryo starts a big route expansion.
Iryo, owned by a consortium of Air Nostrum, Globalvia and Italian operator Trenitalia, is the first Renfe competitor to make a play for business in the south, with new routes linking Madred to Seville, Cordoba and Malaga, with more routes planned.
Iryo made a splash with a sale that offered 250,000 €18 tickets to travel on any date this year, a move that the company says means they’ll start off with 75% of seats filled already.
France’s Ouigo discount high-speed operator also operates in Spain, but has so far limited itself to routes in the north, especially in service to Barcelona and Madrid.
