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Date Published: 05/06/2023

Arrival of Ouigo train service in Andalucia delayed until 2024

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The high-speed rail service is due to connect Seville, Malaga and Cordoba with Madrid

Arrival of Ouigo train service in Andalucia delayed until 2024

Train passengers in Andalucia have suffered fresh disappointment with the news that the high-speed, low-cost Ouigo rail line which promises to connect the Spanish capital with Seville, Malaga and Cordoba has been delayed once again, this time until the end of next year.

This is the fourth time the long-awaited routes have been put back, making the French-owned company the only one not currently operating between Andalucia and Madrid.

In direct competition with state-run Renfe, Iryo began running trains on this route in March and AVLO has been in service since June 1.

"We have asked ADIF for flexibility and we calculate that we will arrive in Andalusia in the second half of 2024. Everything is being done to arrive as soon as possible,” a Ouigo spokesperson confirmed on Monday June 5.

The necessary checks on the double-decker trains have been ongoing since the end of May in Malaga and Cordoba and the trial runs are expected to begin in Seville later this month, but the company still needs to secure vehicle approvals and carry out driver tests.

This latest discouraging delay has been put down to a technical issue with Ouigo trains: in the rest of Spain, high-speed lines run on what’s known as the ERTMS traffic management system. This, unfortunately, does not exist between Seville and Madrid and so the company has to adapt its trains to the older LZB system.

Iryo managed to avoid this problem because its trains are already equipped to operate with the different management systems.

Ouigo is missing out on the high demand of travel to the Spanish capital which other operators are now cashing in on. AVLO currently offers four daily trains between Madrid and Andalucia, a trip that today takes just around two and a half hours since the work on the lines finished up.

In other news: Sunday summer opening hours begin in Malaga

Image: Ouigo

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