Malaga And Granada To Be Connected By High-Speed Rail Service
Spain News
Published: 24 March 2022 17:17 CET
From April 2022, the popular Spanish cities of Malaga and Granada will be connected by a new high-speed rail service.
The Renfe train service, which starts on April 4, will be the first direct train ever to run between the two cities and will offer more than 6,600 weekly places to travel between both provinces.
Up and running just in time for Easter week, two Avant trains will initially be running in each direction with a journey time of one hour and ten minutes.
The Avant trains that have been chosen to run this route are the 104 series, which are the same trains that are used across all Andalusian connections, including the Seville-Cordoba-Malaga and Seville-Cordoba-Granada route. They can travel up to 250 km an hour and are specially designed for medium distance journeys.
Each train consists of four carriages with 237 seats, including one that is adapted for people with mobility difficulties.
The railway transport company has said that the first scheduled trains are due to depart from Granada at 7:40 am and 6:50 pm and from Malaga at 9:25 am and again at 8:25 pm.
"They will all make intermediate stops in Loja and, when it comes into service, they will also do so at the future Antequera Alta Velocidad station," they reported.
In regards to the train schedules, the train that will depart from Malaga at 9:25 am will stop in Loja at 10:16 am and arrive in the capital of Granada at 10:37 am.
The train that departs from Malaga at 8:25 pm, arrives in Loja at 9:16 pm and in Granada at 9:37 pm.
In the opposite direction, the train will depart from Granada at 7:40 am, stop in Loja at 8:02 am and arrive in Malaga at 8:50 am.
The train that departs from Granada at 6:50 pm, will stop in Loja at 7:12 pm and arrive in Malaga at 8:00 pm.
The railway transport company stated that "this initial offer will be increased in a second phase with a train plus in each direction as decreed in the Public Service Obligation contract that Renfe maintains with the General State Administration".
With the train journey time being similar to that of travelling by car, Renfe will need to convince people that travelling by train is far more comfortable and enjoyable, a task that may be made easier by the rising costs of fuel.
Renfe identifies that "the objective of the Avant services is to extend the benefits of high speed between nearby towns, to offer journeys with high levels of comfort, safety and very competitive travel times compared to other modes of transport that favour recurrent use of the train both for work/study and leisure reasons.
“There will be tastes for everything, people who prefer to go by train, others by car and many who will use both methods depending on their needs. The important thing is that this service is already up and running and that it opens up another possibility for people from Malaga, Granada and tourists who want to see both cities”.
Tickets for the new Malaga-Granada route can now be purchased from Renfe directly, or at ticket offices and travel agents.
In principle, a one-way ticket will cost 23.10 euros, whilst a round trip (return) will be 37 euros.
Nevertheless, from April 3, Renfe is also going to market passes that include the Plus Card, Plus 10 Card, Plus 10-45 Card or Plus 50 Trip Card. With the latter being designed for people who are going to take that train a lot, the cost remains at 8.5 euros per single journey.
Source
https://www.surinenglish.com/malaga/highspeed-rail-service-20220323171613-nt.html
https://www.malagahoy.es/malaga/malaga-granada-tren-directo-abril_0_1666335384.html
