In principle, the service will begin to be provided in the Barcelona-Zaragoza-Madrid corridor and the tickets will go on sale at the end of next January. Subsequently, when the service is consolidated, it will be extended to more users.
Ábalos has described AVLO as a milestone in the transformation of the Spanish railway because "High Speed will no longer be a product only focused on business trips, but is open to families, young people and other groups that used it very occasionally ".
According to the acting minister, the data reflects that the number of people using the railroad is at record highs: 511 million passengers in all RENFE services in the last year, 22 million of them in AVE services.
For Ábalos, the new AVLO product "affects the three stated purposes of making the railway more inclusive, more competitive and more sustainable." Hence, he said, "the services are going to be configured so that they have a reduced price without losing their speed, punctuality and safety features."
Modern product adjusted to demand
AVLO, stressed the minister, "represents a response of RENFE to the most competitive environment that will arise with liberalization within a year" and added that it is "a modern product, adjusted to another type of demand, but that will respect the high quality service offered by RENFE in High Speed ".
The acting minister has valued the work behind this presentation, "done in record time, but with seriousness and commitment." He also recalled the momentum given in recent months to some major infrastructure such as the Mediterranean Corridor, the AVE to Galicia or Asturias, as well as the renewal of RENFE material for more than 3,000 million euros, "which will allow trains to be withdrawn almost half a century old and make possible new services, such as the one we present today. "
The head of the Department said that "we hope to continue increasing the investment in the rail network because this is essential so that we can improve Commuter services, freight corridors and the modernization of the most deficient connections."
Modernization and sustainability
The minister assured that the Development Group it faces the challenge of digitalization and technological innovation, because "for the mobility of the future, we will work more with data and algorithms than with concrete".
"The railroad will be an ally in the fight against climate change," said Ábalos, in relation to the celebration of the Climate Summit, COP 25, these days in Spain, which "reminds us that this aspect is literally vital".
In this regard, he said that "the Spanish transport sector must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by about a third by 2030 to meet the commitments already made by Spain. Some commitments that, perhaps, we have to reinforce and that we are determined to comply, "he added.
In this sense, Ábalos has recognized that "it is essential that the railway plays a more important role than the current one, because it consumes up to 90% less energy per unit transported than other means. And, in addition, most of this energy is electric ".
Finally, the head of the Department said that "we are promoting investments and taking measures such as liberalization that, according to our calculations, could prevent the emission of about 800,000 tons of CO2 annually into the atmosphere."