From €40 to €106: Cuts to Madrid-Barcelona Avlo train services send prices soaring

The suspension of a low-cost train service between Madrid and Barcelona has caused ticket prices to surge by up to 40 percent and even as high as 60 percent in some cases, depending on travel time and availability.

Back in September, Spain's state rail operator Renfe suspended its Avlo high-speed, low-cost services between the two biggest cities in Spain after detecting that one Avlo S106 train model had a crack in the frame.

This led to the withdrawal of all Avlo s106 models on high-speed lines. It is not known when they will begin operating again. Cancelled services were replaced by Renfe's other high-speed AVE services, which are considerably more expensive, as well as private sector rivals.

READ ALSO: Spain's Renfe to pull low-cost Avlo trains between Madrid and Barcelona

As a result, prices have soared. Some figures put the rise at as much as 60 percent month-on-month, with tickets now reaching €140 in some cases depending on travel time.

Spanish daily El País reports that railway companies have increased their prices by 40 percent on average, citing Trainline, the train travel booking platform. It found that in September 2024 the average ticket cost €58, but by September 2025 the average had risen to €81.

Rival companies Ouigo, Renfe and Iryo have taken advantage of the situation to increase their prices. Renfe introduced its low-cost Avlo train services in 2021 as a result of deregulation of Spain’s rail network, which saw new budget rail companies Ouigo and Iryo start to offer services to passengers in Spain at a lower cost than Renfe.

The head of Trainline in Europe, Pedro García, stated that the withdrawal of Avlo services has had a knock-on effect on the market: "Eliminating low-cost has had a contagious effect on the rest of operators."

This has been keenly felt in the last month. Calculations from Cadena Ser suggest that when comparing prices from September 8th with those of October 8th, the average ticket price has increased by 68.3 percent on the Madrid-Barcelona corridor, with an average of €130.46 for the 5 daily frequencies operated by AVLO trains.

The biggest increase was found to be for the first departure of the day, going from €40.50 to €106.75 on average. For the Barcelona-Madrid route, the average is €125.70, a 49.5 percent increase.

In Spain the booking system for some high-speed services works on a dynamic pricing structure, meaning the higher the demand and fewer seats available, the higher the price.

READ ALSO: 40km/hour trains - Why much of Spain's rail network is not world class