Renfe to launch Barcelona-Toulouse service in 2025

Spain’s Renfe Alta Velocidad (AVE), the country’s high-speed train operator, will launch a new cross-border service between Barcelona and Toulouse, France, in April 2025.

Services on the new route will operate daily from the beginning of April to mid-September, with the possibility of extending operations to “also cater to the demand of business passengers”, Renfe said in a statement.

With an expected journey time of approximately three-and-half hours, the service will depart Barcelona Sants station and call at Girona, Figueres, Perpignan and Carcassonne before arriving in Toulouse. If the requested schedules are confirmed, the new route will also connect through links from Madrid, Zaragoza, Tarragona, Valencia, Lleida or Castellón.

The Spanish carrier, which launched its first AVE services to France in 2023 with connections to Lyon and Marseille, said it has submitted a request to the European Union Railway Agency to safely extend its operations to Toulouse.

“After Renfe is granted with the safety certificate, the company will immediately start to train its staff and will announce the date when tickets are available and the start of the service,” the operator said.

Renfe reported a “very positive response” following its first year of operations in France, which saw services at 80 per cent of capacity. The rail operator added that it “hopes” to also launch cross-border services to Paris with its new AVE S106 trains, but did not provide any further details in a statement posted on its website.