Renfe Plans New High-Speed Train Service Between Spain and France
The Spanish national railway company Renfe is planning a new high-speed train service linking Barcelona in Spain with Toulouse in France, reinstating a route that was cancelled in 2022.
New Spain-France high-speed train
The new high-speed train service would connect Barcelona in Spain with Toulouse in France.
Barcelona and Toulouse were previously connected by a direct train, but there has been no direct service since the 2021-2022 timetable change, when the French national railway company, SNCF, suspended its summer-only Toulouse-Barcelona TGV service.
Renfe had already abandoned its own Barcelona-Toulouse high-speed train service before 2022, but will soon reinstate this important cross-border connection between Spain and France.
Renfe AVE high-speed train. ©AndyBTravels
Barcelona-Toulouse train
Last month, Renfe shared on social media that it had transported 1 million travellers on its international AVE trains between Spain and France in just a year and a half, adding a teaser about the soon-to-be-launched Barcelona-Toulouse route.
Although the plans for the new route are confirmed, it’s not entirely clear when high-speed trains will resume service between Barcelona and Toulouse.
In a press release from October last year, Renfe hinted at the second quarter of 2025 for the new high-speed train route’s launch, though rail experts estimate it will likely begin in the summer of 2025.
The exact start date depends on how quickly Renfe can obtain a safety certificate and train its engine drivers and inspectors for the new route.
Once these steps are completed, the company will announce the start date for the Barcelona-Toulouse high-speed trains and begin ticket sales.
What is clear is that the new route will connect Barcelona and Toulouse in three and a half hours, with stops along the way in Girona, Figueres, Perpignan, and Carcassonne.
The service will be an AVE service, with AVE standing for Alta Velocidad Española, the brand name Renfe gives to its most premium high-speed trains.
Initially, this train will run as a seasonal summer route until mid-September, although Renfe has said it may extend operations if the new connection proves popular with groups beyond holidaymakers, such as business travellers.
Renfe teasing its new high-speed train route on social media. ©Screenshot X
Other high-speed train services between Spain and France
At the moment, Renfe already operates AVE high-speed trains from Barcelona via Montpellier to both Marseille and Lyon in France.
Additionally, SNCF operates a Paris-Barcelona TGV high-speed train via Valence, Nîmes, and Montpellier.
That still leaves plenty of capacity on the Perpignan-Barcelona line across the border between France and Spain, one of Europe’s most underused stretches of high-speed rail.
Conclusion
Spanish rail company Renfe is currently working on the launch of a new high-speed train service that would link Barcelona in Spain with Toulouse in France.
Direct train services on the Barcelona-Toulouse route have been suspended since 2022, so the reintroduction of this connection would be great news for international rail travellers.
However, it remains a pity how underused the high-speed railway line between Spain and France is, even with the addition of this new route.
