High-speed rail in Spain experienced unprecedented growth in 2023, with over 32.4 million travelers utilizing this efficient mode of transportation.
This represents a remarkable 37% increase from the previous year, underscoring the rising popularity and effectiveness of Spain’s rail network.
Since the liberalization of the rail sector in December 2020, competition has intensified, bringing more options and better services to passengers. Notable players like Ouigo and Iryo have significantly contributed to this surge by offering high-speed services on major routes. Specifically, the Madrid-Barcelona corridor saw a record 14 million passengers, while the Madrid-Valencia route attracted 5 million travelers. Additionally, almost 4 million passengers traveled on both the Madrid-Sevilla and Madrid-Málaga/Granada routes, with the Madrid-Alicante corridor nearing 3 million.
Renfe, the historical operator, maintained a strong market share of around 55% on the Madrid-Barcelona and Madrid-Valencia routes. On other routes, Renfe’s dominance ranged between 75% and 80%. The overall market share of trains compared to airplanes increased, averaging 85% across all routes except for Madrid-Málaga.
The financial contributions from rail operators to Adif, Spain’s infrastructure manager, also saw a significant uptick. These fees, based on ticket sales revenue, increased from 37% to 57% for the Madrid-Barcelona route and from 25% to 34% for the Madrid-Valencia route.
In total, rail companies paid 1.341 billion euros in infrastructure access fees and rail charges in 2023, marking a 15% increase from the previous year.
High-speed rail in Spain not only set passenger records but also surpassed pre-pandemic demand levels by 5%, with 534 million travelers using the train in 2023.
The vast majority, 83%, were users of the Cercanías commuter services, driven by the Real Decreto-Ley 14/2022 subsidies that boosted demand for public transport services. These subsidies led to an 18.5% increase in Cercanías usage, a 46% rise in Conventional Medium-Distance travel, and a 47% increase in Medium-Distance High-Speed services.
While passenger rail thrived, the freight sector faced challenges, experiencing a 10% decline in both net tons and ton-kilometers. Renfe Mercancías, the freight division, saw its market share drop below 50% for the first time, settling at 46.4%.
The record-breaking performance of high-speed rail in Spain highlights the effectiveness of sector liberalization and enhanced competition. With continued investments and improvements, Spain’s high-speed rail network is poised for even greater achievements in the future.
