We need these prices everywhere. It's ridiculous that planes are still cheaper than trains, although that also has a lot to do with subsidies, direct and indirect, for the airline industry, without those trains would have been an economical alternative long ago.
Totally agree. Here in the UK the whole ticket pricing system is a complete mess. It really is about time that railways were accepted as a social necessity and properly subsidised as necessary. I know not everybody will agree with me, but if we can get passengers on to railways (especially those lines that have been electrified) rather than in their cars then it's a win win for everyone. Those who need to use cars will have less other traffic to contend with.
Yes, next year ILSA (AirNostrum+TrenItalia) will enter Spain with Frecciarossa 1000 trains and operate Mad-Valencia/Alicante and Mad-Sevilla/Málaga lines.
Really enjoyable vlog as usual, at that price its very tempting to do a Spanish break come September. Hope those turtles are still around in that big pond in those lovely gardens inside Atocha station. .
Personally I like the livery, I think it's really striking and looks the part. Same for the interior, it looks really classy and comfortable. No frills where no frills are needed. To be honest I actually think this looks better than Ouigo and the to regular Renfe offering.
The outside colour is not the best in my opinion honestly just because I like more neutral trains with just a little dash of colour, like the regular Renfe AVE for example. That said, the interior on the AVLO is 10 times better than the one on the SNCF sets. Very "posh" colours on the seats, neutral-colored walls, silver accents, good features and overall a solid-looking feel give it a premium experience despite being low cost. All in all, I would give AVLO a 9.5/10, if it weren't for the fact that they got rid of the bar, and for the unfortunate bar carriage seats, I'm sure many poor souls will be left contemplating their choice of railway operator after getting those seats with practically non-existent windows.
Great video as always, and I think alvo's livery is very attractive and Indeed, competition is always appreciated in this business and I think there should be 2 or 3 train operators on the routes as it will be more beneficial for commuters and it will also help commuters to decide which services they want to choose. And not to forget about the budget travellers.
I love these talgo short cars. Other trains feel like you're stuck in a small tube with 1000 other people. Like an airline. The fewer people inside the car, the better.
As always great video! This doesn't look like a low cost train at all, it's looking stunning! Also didn't know they went to Figueres, that's quite interesting... Also the description says Ouigo Espana ;)
@@NonstopEurotrip Date of Filming: 10/7/21 Camera: GoPro Hero 7 Black ***** Operator: Ouigo España ***** Departure: Barcelona Sants, Spain Arrival: Mardrid (sic) Puerta de Atocha, Spain Cost: €19 (Advanced, Single Class)
The reason why the last train goes all the way to Figueres-Vilafant might be because Barcelona Sants is an overcrowded station in terms of railway space, so it's easier to continue to Figueres and let the train "sleep" there than trying to find an empty track in or near Sants.
Hello from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil again! My wife, my daughter and me did this trip in August 18, 2019 but from Madrid Puerta de Atocha to Barcelona Sants on board a Renfe's Class 103 trainset (AVE 03113) and was an excellent ride also, with a maximum speed of 300 km/h. At that time we have paid 107.70 Euros each, we have booked our tickets (here in Brazil) only 9 days earlier of our departure to Europe (Spain was the 1st stop). But today's 19 euros (or 7 if booked in advance) is a very welcome tariff, even not having a cafeteria car (strange that car you showed us, have to be very tall to see any scenery). Of course competition may and will improve tariffs and services. We loved Madrid and Barcelona, Spain is a beautiful country as well and the Spanish people is very friendly. Unfortunately we do not have passenger trains in Brazil anymore (the last few ones were run off during 1990's by Federal Government and São Paulo State Government, both owners of Brazilian railways at that time), excepting two trains of private Vale company (from Belo Horizonte [Minas Gerais state] to Vitória [Espírito Santo state] and from São Luís [Maranhão state] to Parauapebas [Pará state]), as well as some suburban and/or subway systems in few state capitals, plus 2 or 3 tiny touristic lines using steam in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul. In Brazil goods transport are done mainly by road (around 61% of all cargoes including all foods and drinks, more expensive than railways); only 21% of our cargoes are transported by rail (mainly unitary products like iron ore and soybeans, both for export). It is crazy to see that a package of rice produced in Rio Grande do Sul State goes to Northeast and North of Brazil by highway! Passengers travel by roads and air. For a continental country like Brazil, we have only around 30,000 km of railways, only for cargo. I was born in São Paulo city and live in Salvador (2,000 km apart by road and 1,463 km by air), I am always in São Paulo due to family reasons: of course I would prefer to do this trip in a high speed train in 6-8-10 hours instead of squeezed in an airplane in 2 hours with no space for legs and arms. By bus this travel demands approx. 36 hours! But... in Brazil... a passenger high speed train is a dream that never will happen. Thank you for your excellent video and for sharing it. All the best to you! Take care there!
Thanks for taking us along for the journey. I like the livery and I'm okay with vending machine service for a trip like that. I heard the Spanish parliament proposed a bill that would ban flights within Spain that weren't part of a connecting service where a train trip could be completed in 2.5 hours or less. For example, you could fly JFK-MAD-BCN but not MAD-BCN.
It looks nice, and you can't ask for more at that price range. l can't wait till they start servicing Valencia. Competition is good, but l see the prices on regular Renfe trains are way higher than before. Inevitable l fear. Thanks for the video, I enjoy them. Planning on taking the ferry to Mallorca after seeing your review :-).
I've actually found regular Renfe prices on the route have come down since Ouigo and Avlo launched. Yes Valencia will be a good route, but it's not a mega expensive route if you book in advance anyway. The ferry is very cool 😎
Thank you for the great video! I always enjoy them! I do like the purple livery. It's very sleek in my opinion. It's encouraging to see competition on the Barcelona to Madrid HSL now. The only HSL I have been on is the Madrid to Toledo. Necesito a volver a Espana! :-)
I like the livery as well. Nice graphic design, nice color scheme. It suggests speed with "new" and "modern." As for no food café, that's their one big "miss." The availability of hot food is a must, even if it is just microwaved hot dogs. That's what AmTrak here in the US offers on short and medium-distance trains.
It's good to see some genuine competition on the high speed routes. I'd love to see the same here in the UK on the London-Paris High Speed service. Eurostar prices are still ridiculously high unless you're lucky enough to get one of the 'deals' on offer. On other routes in the UK it's fairly rare to get genuine competition to keep prices down, and London commuters are mercilessly ripped off.
The problem with Eurostar competition is that access charges to run on HS1 are ridiculously expensive - it's the most expensive high speed line to operate on anywhere in Europe, by quite a margin. So that doesn't help create much interest in competition.
@@CityWhisperer You are wrong about HS1 access charges. On an absolute level, they are about the same as on Paris-Lyon or Tours-Bordeaux LGV, slightly above 20 Euros/train-km. This is more than twice Spanish or Italian rates but these are countries where HSR construction was financed by the taxpayer. On a relative level, i.e. in relation to construction costs/km, HS1 access charges are actually low. In summary, HS1 was one of the most expensive HSL to build, indeed by quite a margin, about 500%, when compared to the Madrid-Barcelona line. Sadly, it seems HS2 construction costs are going to be even higher.
Hi there! Just finished watching both Ouigo and AVLo and can't say which one seems best. For me, 2:30hrs Mad-Bcn is a fantastic time, especially for 10 euros, hehe🤭🤭🤭 One additional comment Iryo, the brand name for Ilsa trains operated in Spain, will NOT be a Low Cost carrier but one with a similar business modela Italo has in Italy, competing vis-a-vis with the state owned operator (Trenitalia or Renfe Operadora). Additional interesting feature Iryo will posess is the feasibility to purchase multimodal tickets through agreements with airline carriers. This will be a nice feature for combined transportation. Happy new year and keep up with the good stuff. Looking after videos from Poland shortly!
Yet anther great review! I'm plnning to do this trip next month, and videos like this really help. I'm affraid my choice will go down to price too, as the exchange rate to the Brzilian currency is really not favourable right now, so every cent counts.
I would like to go to Spain and to go to Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Zaragoza, Bilbao, Palma, Murcia, Valencia, Seville and other places in Spain. And also want to go Andorra and Gibraltar. I’ve been to Portugal but only to Faro but I would like to go to Lisbon. Plus speaking in Spanish and Portuguese are very much similar.
I've been to all those places and they are all great 👍🏻😄
3 роки тому+2
Great video! Just a punctualization. Ilsa is expected to be a new railway operator in spain, but I'm not sure if it will be a low cost one, as probably the ETR1000 will have a seats configuration very similar to the italian one.
7 euro for that distance on HS train is really cheap, compared to train in my country a trip around the same distance in 2+2 hard seat cost around 4.5€ with 8 hour journey that is the cheapest one. Competition indeed made fare cheaper.
@@NonstopEurotrip true, though I really wish I had a chance to ride the old Oregon/Amtrak Cascade talgos to see the Cafe art before they were scrapped...
Great video. I think that I would take a ouigo train instead an avlo. The trains look more comfortable and also have a cafeteria which is important in a a long distance trip.
Seems a really odd choice to remove the cafe car, as it's a good source of additional income for the route. I would keep the cafe car but change up the menu from the AVE to a more leisure / budget friendly orientation to maintain some differentiation between the services. Ryanair learned quickly that the onboard offering was a potential bigger earner than ticket sales.... get with the picture, Renfe!
So Max, having “traveled” with you on both, my preference would be Ouigo “Sky”. I like the decor better and it has a catering car. That said, post pandemic (whenever that may be) my first choice would be Renfe Preferente Class. Now then, once ISLA/Frecciarossa enters the competition, all bets are off … and if they bring their Italian style with them it just might be a knockout! No matter what, competition should keep everyone on their game. 😉😞
Thanks Rob! I think I agree with you just because there is the Ouibar 😂 Ilsa will be very interesting as they're not going to be a budget service, will see how their prices fall 🤑
Colourful or more jazzy liveries are quite typical for low-cost brands when it comes to airlines in order to make them more recognisable. I guess AVLO, being AVE's low-cost brand, applied this model and hence the seats look like an airline. Glad that the AVE monopoly is over. Madrid and Barcelona have never been so close now.
Thank you for my Friday 'fix' - very impressive and speeds and prices alien to the UK. My only gripe is the lack of catering. Cheaper travel shouldn't mean a lack of service. Seat catering and a buffet car would enhance the experience.
@@jonhartley that's because on airplanes the main purpose of staff is security. If Ryanair could substitute their staff with vending machines I'm sure they would. Vending machines don't go on strike and there are no vending machines' labor unions as far as I know.
Ok, great video. As in other aspects of our life, high speed travel is also becoming just another commodity to have as a "grab and go" service. Nice run. The Ouigo trains seem nicer though. Departure and full travel time would be my deciding factors once prices will to be similar by the way.
Just a point: ILSA is not planning to operate a low-cost service. Their business model will include a full premium / business class and a catering coach.
While I welcome competition it may become a war of attrition between the low cost operators. Was the €19 fare a standard for the route?. They seem to claw money back with reservation and excess luggage charges much like Ryanair does for example. I must say I do love the colourful liveries you find on some operators trains.
Thank you for an excellent review, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I like the special livery, which has real flair. Having travelled in both the TGV Duplex, and the RENFE Avlo type trains, the TGV wins hands down for me . Once the SNCF people can reintroduce on board catering on the Ouigo services, they will be hard to beat !
To be fair, I think I've seen about 5 journeys between Barcelona and Madrid recently between you, Dylan, Simply Railway & Superalbs I think all having done the Ouigo trip or did I dream that? Have to say though, I think they've made a mistake removing the cafeteria, especially as Ouigo provide one - although who knows how long that will last..? Always find, on board catering is the first thing to be cut in profit wars. Dont Ouigo also have a 'first class' Think we all know that Zaragoza Delicias is one of your favourite stations.. 😉
Whose video did you prefer? 😇 I think Ouigo and Avlo have enough differences, onboard and service patterns to give people a real choice now. Good toilets too 😉
I think that Trenitalia is also gonna launch his High Speed service in Spain. I'm pretty sure they're gonna use the Frecciarossa 1000 that is gonna go way faster than the Ouigo and the Avlo.
I'm not sure they will allow them to go over 300km/h (it'd be amazing if the govt. allowed them) but at least they will bring prices down on the lines they will operate: Valencia, Alicante, Málaga and Sevilla.
They're not going to go faster than Renfe's rolling stock already does. Max speed is determined by the protection and signalling system installed on the tracks, most of Spain's high speed network uses ERTMS level 1, its max speed being 300 km/h.
@@El-Mengu If you check the map at the beginning of the video you will see there are 310 km/h sections on this madrid barcelona trip around Guadalajara.
I'm visiting Spain in April should I book my train tickets now or can I purchase same day I arrive?? I'm new to transportation by train so I'm not sure if i would lose my early morning time slots if I wait
@@NonstopEurotrip I think I would feel much more comfortable in this train than in an ouigo. 2 floors for me makes me feel claustrophobia. Specially in tierra floor. Also the materials looks more classy here and makes you feel you are not using a low cost service
Of course you can travel at this price. And for sure i would book at this price in the next weeks in a time and day with low people travelling...but average price (according to both AVLO and OUIGO) Will be 85€/ roundtrip. And is Great because AVE price is 170€
A nice journey & beautiful countryside as well were all the signs on the metro in Barcelona just in Catalan I think its a bit harder to understand than Spanish the train station in Barcelona looks to modern & awful inside & outside still has plenty of shops.
Avlo livery colors are stunning. BCN Sants is one of uggliest stations in Europe. Any charming, any architectures as per city is and the new one is been constructing in La Sagrera ( nowhere area for tourists and far from city center) even uglier. I love Barcelona Estació de França that is really lovely one which sadly is spect to be dissappearing so far. Nice video by the way. Thanks 🙏🏻
Sants was only meant as a temporary high-speed hub until La Sagrera was finished, but it's taking decades of delay to finish it, so Sants must do the job meanwhile... But yeah I agree that Sants feels cramped and unfriendly, hopefully La Sagrera will provide a better experience once it's done... someday.
The thing is nowadays old railways companies such as TGV, renfe etc still have their old seats. They should improve them and make them a bit comfortable to a attract more passengers.
Not true. Many TGVs have new seats now and in fact the old ones were also very comfortable. AVE First Class seats are also among the most comfortable that I've ever tried anywhere.
In direct services with no stops, trains run a bit further than 300km/h between Calatayud and Guadalajara for assuring the 2.30h time, or in your case, even less. A tip that has been discovered recently: the coach number 6 (ex-cafeteria) with the higher windows is most likely where you be allocated if you have a 7€ ticket. Also, the seats in this coach seems to be a bit less comfy than the rest of the train (This are new ones, and the others are the previous ones just re-trimmed)
Apparently these S112s and the Ouigo TGV will only run at 300 and not the 310 line speed? Thank for the info on the seats, I did try them but not for any length of time 😂
Does anyone know why these power cars have such peculiar desgn? Reminds me of the latest Japanese Shinkansen. Are there aerodynamical studies compariing them to the "normal" noses? Or is it just another fashion?
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I'm quite sure there are local stops on the Madrid-Barcelona Line, but are not served by all local high speed trains.
I like AVLO's livery. The thing to remember when booking is not to choose coach 6, unless you're a giraffe.
As mentioned in the video 😉
Hahaha 😉
Hahahaha
I also love colorful livery, much better than the beige livery of the ave
Thanks for the review. I've been waiting for it. Going centre of both Bcn and Madrid in just 2 h 24 min for just 19 euros it's just amazing.
Amazing isn't it 😎
We need these prices everywhere. It's ridiculous that planes are still cheaper than trains, although that also has a lot to do with subsidies, direct and indirect, for the airline industry, without those trains would have been an economical alternative long ago.
Totally agree. Here in the UK the whole ticket pricing system is a complete mess. It really is about time that railways were accepted as a social necessity and properly subsidised as necessary. I know not everybody will agree with me, but if we can get passengers on to railways (especially those lines that have been electrified) rather than in their cars then it's a win win for everyone. Those who need to use cars will have less other traffic to contend with.
Yes, next year ILSA (AirNostrum+TrenItalia) will enter Spain with Frecciarossa 1000 trains and operate Mad-Valencia/Alicante and Mad-Sevilla/Málaga lines.
Completely agree 🙏🏻😎
We need also the High Speed Lines ewerywhere. At Germany are the most ICE Lines driving on a Network, where the ICEs at least 160 km/h drives.
Let me know, when I have a misstake, I'm a Student from Germany.
Really enjoyable vlog as usual, at that price its very tempting to do a Spanish break come September. Hope those turtles are still around in that big pond in those lovely gardens inside Atocha station. .
Thank you Norman! I would definitely recommend a trip... Be it with Avlo or Ouigo 😁👍🏻🇪🇦 Btw the Atocha 'jungle' is still currently closed 🔐
Personally I like the livery, I think it's really striking and looks the part. Same for the interior, it looks really classy and comfortable. No frills where no frills are needed.
To be honest I actually think this looks better than Ouigo and the to regular Renfe offering.
They're both great services tbh. I like the purple colour too 😍
The outside colour is not the best in my opinion honestly just because I like more neutral trains with just a little dash of colour, like the regular Renfe AVE for example.
That said, the interior on the AVLO is 10 times better than the one on the SNCF sets. Very "posh" colours on the seats, neutral-colored walls, silver accents, good features and overall a solid-looking feel give it a premium experience despite being low cost.
All in all, I would give AVLO a 9.5/10, if it weren't for the fact that they got rid of the bar, and for the unfortunate bar carriage seats, I'm sure many poor souls will be left contemplating their choice of railway operator after getting those seats with practically non-existent windows.
@@sergiofreitas9368 I agree 👍
Too many colours. White featuring on purple would have been better.
Great video as always, and I think alvo's livery is very attractive and Indeed, competition is always appreciated in this business and I think there should be 2 or 3 train operators on the routes as it will be more beneficial for commuters and it will also help commuters to decide which services they want to choose. And not to forget about the budget travellers.
Definitely Rahill! Highspeed low-cost definitely has a big future in Europe. Hopefully some competition can be brought to Germany now too 😂
I love these talgo short cars. Other trains feel like you're stuck in a small tube with 1000 other people. Like an airline. The fewer people inside the car, the better.
I agree, I'm a fan too 👍🏻🤩
As always great video! This doesn't look like a low cost train at all, it's looking stunning! Also didn't know they went to Figueres, that's quite interesting...
Also the description says Ouigo Espana ;)
Thanks Ben, did you read the description properly 😏😄
@@NonstopEurotrip
Date of Filming: 10/7/21
Camera: GoPro Hero 7 Black
***** Operator: Ouigo España *****
Departure: Barcelona Sants, Spain
Arrival: Mardrid (sic) Puerta de Atocha, Spain
Cost: €19 (Advanced, Single Class)
The reason why the last train goes all the way to Figueres-Vilafant might be because Barcelona Sants is an overcrowded station in terms of railway space, so it's easier to continue to Figueres and let the train "sleep" there than trying to find an empty track in or near Sants.
Hello from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil again! My wife, my daughter and me did this trip in August 18, 2019 but from Madrid Puerta de Atocha to Barcelona Sants on board a Renfe's Class 103 trainset (AVE 03113) and was an excellent ride also, with a maximum speed of 300 km/h. At that time we have paid 107.70 Euros each, we have booked our tickets (here in Brazil) only 9 days earlier of our departure to Europe (Spain was the 1st stop). But today's 19 euros (or 7 if booked in advance) is a very welcome tariff, even not having a cafeteria car (strange that car you showed us, have to be very tall to see any scenery). Of course competition may and will improve tariffs and services. We loved Madrid and Barcelona, Spain is a beautiful country as well and the Spanish people is very friendly.
Unfortunately we do not have passenger trains in Brazil anymore (the last few ones were run off during 1990's by Federal Government and São Paulo State Government, both owners of Brazilian railways at that time), excepting two trains of private Vale company (from Belo Horizonte [Minas Gerais state] to Vitória [Espírito Santo state] and from São Luís [Maranhão state] to Parauapebas [Pará state]), as well as some suburban and/or subway systems in few state capitals, plus 2 or 3 tiny touristic lines using steam in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul.
In Brazil goods transport are done mainly by road (around 61% of all cargoes including all foods and drinks, more expensive than railways); only 21% of our cargoes are transported by rail (mainly unitary products like iron ore and soybeans, both for export). It is crazy to see that a package of rice produced in Rio Grande do Sul State goes to Northeast and North of Brazil by highway! Passengers travel by roads and air. For a continental country like Brazil, we have only around 30,000 km of railways, only for cargo. I was born in São Paulo city and live in Salvador (2,000 km apart by road and 1,463 km by air), I am always in São Paulo due to family reasons: of course I would prefer to do this trip in a high speed train in 6-8-10 hours instead of squeezed in an airplane in 2 hours with no space for legs and arms. By bus this travel demands approx. 36 hours! But... in Brazil... a passenger high speed train is a dream that never will happen.
Thank you for your excellent video and for sharing it. All the best to you! Take care there!
Excellent! Hopefully if you come again it will be much cheaper then 👍🏻😁
What a beautiful train 🤩🤩😍😍😍
Isn't it 😎
Great informative video as always. I do like the Avlo livery. Very snazzy !
Glad you enjoyed it 😊
My face was like 😃 planing my trip in Spain and I was worried about the trian prices, but now I’m so happy. Well done 👍🏻
Just this route, so far!!! 😃
Thanks for taking us along for the journey. I like the livery and I'm okay with vending machine service for a trip like that. I heard the Spanish parliament proposed a bill that would ban flights within Spain that weren't part of a connecting service where a train trip could be completed in 2.5 hours or less. For example, you could fly JFK-MAD-BCN but not MAD-BCN.
It's a law project in progress in France too
Thanks Tom. Banning short flights is definitely a good idea imho 👍🏻
I think that was proposed in France, not in Spain.
@@AlbertoBTena simpleflying.com/spain-domestic-flight-ban/
@@tomsmith5584 this is a project, but it hasn't be presented to the parliament yet or any soon.
It looks nice, and you can't ask for more at that price range. l can't wait till they start servicing Valencia. Competition is good, but l see the prices on regular Renfe trains are way higher than before. Inevitable l fear. Thanks for the video, I enjoy them. Planning on taking the ferry to Mallorca after seeing your review :-).
I've actually found regular Renfe prices on the route have come down since Ouigo and Avlo launched. Yes Valencia will be a good route, but it's not a mega expensive route if you book in advance anyway. The ferry is very cool 😎
Thank you for the great video! I always enjoy them! I do like the purple livery. It's very sleek in my opinion. It's encouraging to see competition on the Barcelona to Madrid HSL now. The only HSL I have been on is the Madrid to Toledo. Necesito a volver a Espana! :-)
You're welcome ☺️ you'll have to come back soon as do some more high-speed in Spain 👍🏻🇪🇦
ESTUPENDA NOTICIA ME ENCANTA MADRID ES UNA CIUDAD MUY ACOGEDORA Y NO ES CARA
Gracias amigo 😎🇪🇦
Gracias por mostrar los espacios reservados para los que vamos en ♿️, ojalá lo hagas en todos tus vídeos, un saludo
Gracias amigo 🙏🏻
I miss catering. Always fun during trips longer than a hour and a half.
Enjoy your videos, great job👍👍👍
Thank you Maria 🙏🏻
I like the livery as well. Nice graphic design, nice color scheme. It suggests speed with "new" and "modern."
As for no food café, that's their one big "miss." The availability of hot food is a must, even if it is just microwaved hot dogs. That's what AmTrak here in the US offers on short and medium-distance trains.
For a shortish journey like this, it's not necessary. And the vending machines are fine for drinks and snacks...
Which one is the most comfortable?
Nice video! Enjoy Spain :)
They're both comfortable for different reasons! Depends if you prefer leather ergonomic seats or cloth soft ones 🤷🏻♂️
Très belle vidéo moi l avlo je le prend mercredi prochain de valence a Madrid ça m as mis l eau a la bouche
It's good to see some genuine competition on the high speed routes. I'd love to see the same here in the UK on the London-Paris High Speed service. Eurostar prices are still ridiculously high unless you're lucky enough to get one of the 'deals' on offer. On other routes in the UK it's fairly rare to get genuine competition to keep prices down, and London commuters are mercilessly ripped off.
The problem with Eurostar competition is that access charges to run on HS1 are ridiculously expensive - it's the most expensive high speed line to operate on anywhere in Europe, by quite a margin. So that doesn't help create much interest in competition.
Would be great to see Ouigo London-Paris eh 😁
@@CityWhisperer Not just HS1, but Eurotunnel's access charges are high as well. I believe that are 25€ per person.
@@CityWhisperer You are wrong about HS1 access charges. On an absolute level, they are about the same as on Paris-Lyon or Tours-Bordeaux LGV, slightly above 20 Euros/train-km. This is more than twice Spanish or Italian rates but these are countries where HSR construction was financed by the taxpayer.
On a relative level, i.e. in relation to construction costs/km, HS1 access charges are actually low. In summary, HS1 was one of the most expensive HSL to build, indeed by quite a margin, about 500%, when compared to the Madrid-Barcelona line. Sadly, it seems HS2 construction costs are going to be even higher.
Well done!! Just subscribed. I look forward to your videos!!
Glad you're liking them ☺️
Excellent Enterprising Emerging Evolving Travel Endeavour. Thoroughly enjoyed the video. All The Best 🎉🙏 Greetings from Kakinada/Hyderabad. India
Thank you 🙏🏻
That livery is awesome. I like it.
It's growing on me 😂
Great trip - love stopping off in Zaragoza also and so much cheaper now - makes a day trip much more possible. Thanks
No worries ☺️
Zaragoza is the most underrated city in Spain
I like this train 🚉!
Excellent review. Just what I need. Thanks
You're welcome 🤗
Great video !!
Thanks!
Hi there! Just finished watching both Ouigo and AVLo and can't say which one seems best. For me, 2:30hrs Mad-Bcn is a fantastic time, especially for 10 euros, hehe🤭🤭🤭
One additional comment Iryo, the brand name for Ilsa trains operated in Spain, will NOT be a Low Cost carrier but one with a similar business modela Italo has in Italy, competing vis-a-vis with the state owned operator (Trenitalia or Renfe Operadora). Additional interesting feature Iryo will posess is the feasibility to purchase multimodal tickets through agreements with airline carriers. This will be a nice feature for combined transportation. Happy new year and keep up with the good stuff. Looking after videos from Poland shortly!
I'm excited to try Iryo in 2022. Glad you enjoyed the video 😄 Happy new year to you too 🎉
No steps...great!!
👏 👏 👏 👏 for the Zaragoza pun
😇😇😇
The most beautiful livery on train😍😍😍😍
You think?!
Yet anther great review! I'm plnning to do this trip next month, and videos like this really help. I'm affraid my choice will go down to price too, as the exchange rate to the Brzilian currency is really not favourable right now, so every cent counts.
Glad you enjoyed it Gustavo 😃
Literally they replaced the cafeteria with seats, the windows in that coach are lifted up like in the normal cafeteria😂.
As mentioned in the video 👍🏻
I would like to go to Spain and to go to Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Zaragoza, Bilbao, Palma, Murcia, Valencia, Seville and other places in Spain. And also want to go Andorra and Gibraltar. I’ve been to Portugal but only to Faro but I would like to go to Lisbon. Plus speaking in Spanish and Portuguese are very much similar.
I would recommend visiting Aveiro, Madeira, Porto, and the Azores islands as well in Portugal.
@@Ferreira0504 Indeed. :)
I've been to all those places and they are all great 👍🏻😄
Great video!
Just a punctualization. Ilsa is expected to be a new railway operator in spain, but I'm not sure if it will be a low cost one, as probably the ETR1000 will have a seats configuration very similar to the italian one.
I hope so, that will be fantastic 😍
7 euro for that distance on HS train is really cheap, compared to train in my country a trip around the same distance in 2+2 hard seat cost around 4.5€ with 8 hour journey that is the cheapest one. Competition indeed made fare cheaper.
Isn't it just!
can't wait for shiey to train surf it
🤣🤣🤣
I love purple trains so I would totally ride Avlo if I could! It is too bad they took out the Cafe and replaced it with vending machines...
I don't think it matters too much. At the end of the day if you want a cafe, use an AVE 😂
@@NonstopEurotrip true, though I really wish I had a chance to ride the old Oregon/Amtrak Cascade talgos to see the Cafe art before they were scrapped...
Great video. I think that I would take a ouigo train instead an avlo. The trains look more comfortable and also have a cafeteria which is important in a a long distance trip.
Good point 🤠
2,5 hours is not even close to a long distance trip bro
@@adinahi7869 Right, 2.5 hours is nothing! Take a nice nap. Bring a sandwich if you think you're going to starve.
Seems a really odd choice to remove the cafe car, as it's a good source of additional income for the route. I would keep the cafe car but change up the menu from the AVE to a more leisure / budget friendly orientation to maintain some differentiation between the services. Ryanair learned quickly that the onboard offering was a potential bigger earner than ticket sales.... get with the picture, Renfe!
I'm sure the extra seats pay for the lack of the buffet, there are vending machines after all in replacement
Did you know that AVLO now uses new Talgo Avril s106 trains?
I did 😄
@@NonstopEurotrip ah. Please review them on both AVE and AVLO
nice video like the colour of the trains , is their any refreshments on board or do you have to get them before you board
It's all explained in the video 😂
sorry missed the bit about vending machines
So Max, having “traveled” with you on both, my preference would be Ouigo “Sky”. I like the decor better and it has a catering car. That said, post pandemic (whenever that may be) my first choice would be Renfe Preferente Class. Now then, once ISLA/Frecciarossa enters the competition, all bets are off … and if they bring their Italian style with them it just might be a knockout! No matter what, competition should keep everyone on their game. 😉😞
Thanks Rob! I think I agree with you just because there is the Ouibar 😂 Ilsa will be very interesting as they're not going to be a budget service, will see how their prices fall 🤑
do you remember when you took the Euromed from Valencia to Barcelona?
Yes...?
Colourful or more jazzy liveries are quite typical for low-cost brands when it comes to airlines in order to make them more recognisable. I guess AVLO, being AVE's low-cost brand, applied this model and hence the seats look like an airline. Glad that the AVE monopoly is over. Madrid and Barcelona have never been so close now.
I know it's fantastic isn't it 😎
Highspeed trains and night trains are the future axis of European green travel. I stronly believe this.
I completely agree 🙏🏻
Great journey Avlo livery look nice and it's good to see competition so people can get different experience and cheaper prices for low income workers
Thanks Dan, it's pretty good isn't it 😎
Thank you for my Friday 'fix' - very impressive and speeds and prices alien to the UK. My only gripe is the lack of catering. Cheaper travel shouldn't mean a lack of service. Seat catering and a buffet car would enhance the experience.
That would require more staff on board, which for a low cost service doesn't really work out well.
I guess then you should go for Ouigo 😁
@@CityWhisperer Point taken - but even the cheap airlines have staff on board.
@@jonhartley that's because on airplanes the main purpose of staff is security. If Ryanair could substitute their staff with vending machines I'm sure they would. Vending machines don't go on strike and there are no vending machines' labor unions as far as I know.
You get that on ouigo as outdated seats in cringe colours with faux dirty velvet and plastic head. But you will get your microwaved meal
I like the Barney train. (Barney the Dinosaur) I love the colour of it. For the price, it is money well spent.
I know right 😂💜
Ok, great video. As in other aspects of our life, high speed travel is also becoming just another commodity to have as a "grab and go" service. Nice run. The Ouigo trains seem nicer though. Departure and full travel time would be my deciding factors once prices will to be similar by the way.
They're both great trains 😄
what do you edit with? Nice job 👌
Thanks! I edit with Hitfilm on PC
Great video😍
Thanks 👍🏻
Oh, I’d love to take this train, fabulous!
It's pretty good! 😎
Very beautiful train…
Yes 🥰
Just a point: ILSA is not planning to operate a low-cost service. Their business model will include a full premium / business class and a catering coach.
It's going to be amazing 😄
Great trip report
Thanks!
very nice
beautiful upload
Thank you 🙏🏻
@@NonstopEurotrip welcome dear friend
Please stay connected
I Hope with this Low cost High Speed Services More people in spain have the Chance to travel by train
Absolutely! 🤗
Yes, too many people still prefer to travel by car because of the high price of AVE services.
great! good job! But I will wait Hiper roop!
You'll be waiting a while then 🤣
While I welcome competition it may become a war of attrition between the low cost operators. Was the €19 fare a standard for the route?. They seem to claw money back with reservation and excess luggage charges much like Ryanair does for example. I must say I do love the colourful liveries you find on some operators trains.
They let you in with 1 pack of luggage and 1 bag, which is included in the price.
If you book in advance €7, €15 and €19 fares are very achievable 👍🏻
Great trip, amazing price. Difficult to choose between Avlo and Ouigo. And I like the livery so much. Let's see what ILSA brings to the table. Thanks!
Thank you, I agree! 😄
Thank you for an excellent review, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I like the special livery, which has real flair. Having travelled in both the TGV Duplex, and the RENFE Avlo type trains, the TGV wins hands down for me . Once the SNCF people can reintroduce on board catering on the Ouigo services, they will be hard to beat !
Ouibar is back now! The offer basically the same product but with a very different experience. They're both good though!
Avlo scored very high in the looks department. I can say for sure that the whole train looks like a battery operated device for adults. 🤣
Now now 😂
I like the wild purple livery.
Me too! 😁
To be fair, I think I've seen about 5 journeys between Barcelona and Madrid recently between you, Dylan, Simply Railway & Superalbs I think all having done the Ouigo trip or did I dream that?
Have to say though, I think they've made a mistake removing the cafeteria, especially as Ouigo provide one - although who knows how long that will last..? Always find, on board catering is the first thing to be cut in profit wars. Dont Ouigo also have a 'first class'
Think we all know that Zaragoza Delicias is one of your favourite stations.. 😉
I'd say Ouigo isn't really low cost. That's why it kept the cafeteria. I mean, if they really were low cost, why would they keep first class?
Whose video did you prefer? 😇
I think Ouigo and Avlo have enough differences, onboard and service patterns to give people a real choice now. Good toilets too 😉
@@NonstopEurotrip Simply Railway, of course, as it was the first... 😝😝🤣🤣
Nothing worse than washing your hands and the drier doesn't work...
@@markellis6413 banned 🚫😂
very good video!that price is unbelievable,you probably pay more tp get to the train station on metro,bus that the trip to Madrid :D
Well I was staying right by the station, so not quite, but yeah you definitely could 😂
Haha no, a metro or bus ticket costs 2.40€ in Barcelona
I think that Trenitalia is also gonna launch his High Speed service in Spain. I'm pretty sure they're gonna use the Frecciarossa 1000 that is gonna go way faster than the Ouigo and the Avlo.
Yep, they will, as mentioned on the video. Max permitted limit on the line is 300kph though, so they won't be able to go faster.
I'm not sure they will allow them to go over 300km/h (it'd be amazing if the govt. allowed them) but at least they will bring prices down on the lines they will operate: Valencia, Alicante, Málaga and Sevilla.
All mentioned in the video and as Mikel said, they will limited to 300kmh.
They're not going to go faster than Renfe's rolling stock already does. Max speed is determined by the protection and signalling system installed on the tracks, most of Spain's high speed network uses ERTMS level 1, its max speed being 300 km/h.
@@El-Mengu If you check the map at the beginning of the video you will see there are 310 km/h sections on this madrid barcelona trip around Guadalajara.
I have to say that I really like this interior: there is no presence of discutibile pink variants 😂
"Discutibile"???
@@Eurobazz Ouigo went with pink colours, which some find "discutible" - whether it's really necessary to have them.
They're much better than the Ouigo France seats 😂
@@CityWhisperer What does "discutible" mean? It's not an English word. Please educate me.
@@Eurobazz It means 'arguable, debatable, disputable.'
i liked this video
Thank you 🙏🏻
I'm visiting Spain in April should I book my train tickets now or can I purchase same day I arrive?? I'm new to transportation by train so I'm not sure if i would lose my early morning time slots if I wait
Book as far ahead as possible (usually 90 day) as it will be much more expensive on the day...
can you bring on a bigger (non carry on) type luggage on board? If yes, are there storage places for them?
Yes, in the vestibules
These seats and trains look much more classy than ouigo ones
Absolutely 🤗
@@NonstopEurotrip I think I would feel much more comfortable in this train than in an ouigo. 2 floors for me makes me feel claustrophobia. Specially in tierra floor. Also the materials looks more classy here and makes you feel you are not using a low cost service
Can you recommend any app or website which alert if any new cheap offers on trains comes up?
The Train Line's website compares all 3 services - AVE, AVLO and Ouigo. So you can see what's the cheapest price for a given time.
Agree, but don't book with Trainline, always book direct for no booking fees 👍🏻
Thanks from Germany ! Tschuess !
Thank you David ☺️
Nice one.
Can't wait for possibilly 2€ highspeed train service
😂😂😂
It exists between Huesca and Tardienta with early booking although top speed of 200
Of course you can travel at this price. And for sure i would book at this price in the next weeks in a time and day with low people travelling...but average price (according to both AVLO and OUIGO) Will be 85€/ roundtrip. And is Great because AVE price is 170€
I've never seen prices that expensive. You can get a round trip at the moment for €40-60
A nice journey & beautiful countryside as well were all the signs on the metro in Barcelona just in Catalan I think its a bit harder to understand than Spanish the train station in Barcelona looks to modern & awful inside & outside still has plenty of shops.
Yeah I agree with all this 😂
just a general question: how far in advance can you book tickets online?
It varies, due to timetable changes etc, but usually 30-90 days
Avlo livery colors are stunning. BCN Sants is one of uggliest stations in Europe. Any charming, any architectures as per city is and the new one is been constructing in La Sagrera ( nowhere area for tourists and far from city center) even uglier. I love Barcelona Estació de França that is really lovely one which sadly is spect to be dissappearing so far. Nice video by the way. Thanks 🙏🏻
Yeah thanks... And agree they could have done a much better job with Sants 😂
Sants was only meant as a temporary high-speed hub until La Sagrera was finished, but it's taking decades of delay to finish it, so Sants must do the job meanwhile... But yeah I agree that Sants feels cramped and unfriendly, hopefully La Sagrera will provide a better experience once it's done... someday.
nice video
Thanks 😊
The thing is nowadays old railways companies such as TGV, renfe etc still have their old seats. They should improve them and make them a bit comfortable to a attract more passengers.
Not true. Many TGVs have new seats now and in fact the old ones were also very comfortable. AVE First Class seats are also among the most comfortable that I've ever tried anywhere.
7e in Your dream, Basically the cheapest 30e+ a trip
Mine was €19, booked 1 week in advance
Does it have better ride quality and noise level than ouigo
Fairly similar
Hard not to wonder how long before complaints lead to changes in the interior of coach 6...
I doubt they will, I mean it would take much to raise the seats tho 🤷🏻♂️
@@NonstopEurotrip True....however a vending machine / small dining area would work, & bring them closer to the French offering....
Has Renee lowered their prices or are they marketing themselves as not the Ryanair of trains
Yes, Avlo is much cheaper than AVE
I like the avlo livery too though I live in America.
Me too 😌
Avlo doesn't look low cost. I loved the coaches and seats, colors etc! Spanish hst are nailing it
Completely agree 😄
I only see prices between 50-80€ :( cant find the really cheap ones… I also look for 2022 dates, what shoudl I do?
It's just luck of the draw unfortunately. Travelling on weekdays early or late in the day is the best shot at cheap tickets!
In direct services with no stops, trains run a bit further than 300km/h between Calatayud and Guadalajara for assuring the 2.30h time, or in your case, even less.
A tip that has been discovered recently: the coach number 6 (ex-cafeteria) with the higher windows is most likely where you be allocated if you have a 7€ ticket. Also, the seats in this coach seems to be a bit less comfy than the rest of the train (This are new ones, and the others are the previous ones just re-trimmed)
Apparently these S112s and the Ouigo TGV will only run at 300 and not the 310 line speed? Thank for the info on the seats, I did try them but not for any length of time 😂
The ex-cafeteria cars would be a great bargain for those that don't care about the scenery and just want to sleep/get some work done while onboard.
I think avlo are are a nonstop service between Barcelona and Madrid
Some are, most aren't!
(19:52) Why do you always want to take the bikes with you? - Greetings, Heinz
I don't, but some people do!
great
Thanks!
Does anyone know why these power cars have such peculiar desgn? Reminds me of the latest Japanese Shinkansen.
Are there aerodynamical studies compariing them to the "normal" noses? Or is it just another fashion?
Pretty sure it's aerodynamic 😊
I can reserve the seats when I book for standard tickets?
You can for a fee, yes.
Going to travel there in December can't wait 😁 thank you.🙏🙏
What's different between this and renfe ave and outgo ?
Watch my videos on the other 2 to find out 😆
Nice🇪🇦
Thanks 👍🏻