Renfe, Spain’s national rail operator, has confirmed that it will remove all Avlo trains from the high-speed Barcelona–Madrid corridor.
The budget service, launched under the Avlo brand, will disappear from 8 September, when it will be entirely replaced by AVE trains.
Renfe says it will continue to provide ‘the same frequencies, schedules and competitive prices’ previously offered with Avlo, but the service will now be operated exclusively with AVE.
Travellers who already hold Avlo tickets for journeys after 7 September will automatically be transferred to AVE services under the same travel conditions. Customers who paid extra for seat selection will receive that fee back at no cost.
The company argues that the AVE fleet is ‘better suited to the characteristics of the route and to the needs of the business profile – the average traveller on this line’, thanks to greater comfort and more spacious seating.
Additional amenities will also return with the changeover, including an onboard café, catering service and a designated quiet car. Premium passengers will regain perks such as access to club lounges, upgraded dining and the Executive Lounge for business travel.
The move follows concerns over the reliability of Avlo’s Talgo 106 units, which have faced more breakdowns on the Madrid-Barcelona corridor than the AVE’s model 103 trains.
In late July, a technical fault was reported on an Avlo S106, and in early August nearly 500 passengers were left without electricity for more than two hours on the approach to Madrid’s Chamartín station.
Avlo was first launched in 2021, after Spain’s rail sector was deregulated and low-cost operators Ouigo and Iryo entered the market, putting pressure on Renfe to offer cheaper alternatives.
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Renfe retira sus trenes Avlo en línea Madrid-Barcelona y mantendrá el servicio con AVE. https://t.co/49FxooEpQO
— EFE Noticias (@EFEnoticias) August 28, 2025
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