Iryo enters high-speed rail market with €18 train tickets between Barcelona and Madrid

A new company has joined the high-speed rail market in Spain, Iryo, offering tickets between Barcelona and Madrid for as little as €18. 

The company will begin services between the cities on November 25, but the offer will be available to purchase from September 18 on their website.

The rail operators will have 32 daily operations, 16 each way between Barcelona and Madrid, with at least one journey per hour. 

On board will be bars and restaurants able to sit up to 40 people.

Iryo arrives as the third company competing in the high-speed rail market in Spain after state-owned Renfe, as well as French company Ouigo. In 2020, EU regulations put an end to the monopoly in the market, allowing for Ouigo and now Iryo to use the high-speed infrastructure. 

The operator has also announced that soon it will start operating on the other high-speed rails: from December, between Valencia and Madrid and, from early 2023, between Madrid-Seville-Malaga and Alicante.