The train accelerates in front of the plane and carries 85% of passengers on long journeys.

High-speed trains once again gained ground over air travel on Spain's main routes in 2024. The entry of private companies into competition on some routes increased ridership and led to lower prices. According to the latest railway sector report from the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC), high-speed rail travel was used last year by 26.7 million people, representing just over 3.5 million more than in 2023. In contrast, air travel remained stable on the same routes, with just over 3.8 million passengers on national routes.

The CNMC analyzes the six main routes used every day by thousands of citizens. The main one is the Madrid-Barcelona route, which has a unique feature that sets it apart from the rest. Nearly nine million people traveled between Atocha and Sants in 2024, a historic record. However, the share of high-speed trains on this route did not increase compared to 2023, which is explained by the strength of the air shuttle operated by IAG. Eight out of ten travelers between the capital and Barcelona opt for the train, compared to two who prefer to fly, a figure that remained stable last year.

The strength of the air bridge keeps the modal share between Madrid and Barcelona stable.

The CNMC highlights in its report that private competition with Renfe, which was incorporated on some routes in 2023, led to "a sharp increase in passengers and a reduction in average ticket prices" throughout 2024. Thus, ridership on the line between Madrid and Seville rose to 3.8 million last year, compared to 3.1 million in 2023. Between the capital and Málaga, there was also a significant increase in high-speed rail users, with 3.2 million, compared to 2.5 million the previous year. And between Madrid and Alicante, there were 2.6 million journeys in 2024, compared to 2 million the previous year. Therefore, the opening of the high-speed rail line to Iryo and Ouigo led to an increase in passengers of around 25% on these routes.

Transport Minister Óscar Puente has repeatedly stated that high-speed rail is at historic highs, and CNMC data corroborate this. Compared to the year before the pandemic, 2019, the route between Madrid and Barcelona has doubled the number of passengers, as has the route between the capital and Valencia and Alicante. On the Madrid-Seville route, the increase was 41%, and on the route from the city center to Malaga, it was 59%. The emergence of private competitors has been decisive in achieving these figures.

One of the keys to the high-speed train's strength is its price, which has attracted new users. The CNMC does not compare the average cost of plane tickets with train tickets, but it does establish that average prices for major routes fell by 2024. This reduction benefited passengers who used the Madrid-Málaga and Seville-Alicante services. The only exception to this fare reduction was again the Madrid-Barcelona route, where prices increased by 3.5% on average. The Madrid-Valencia route saw a 4.8% drop.

In the case of the Madrid-Barcelona, Madrid-Málaga/Granada, and Madrid-Alicante corridors, in addition to the most important routes (Madrid-Barcelona and Madrid-Zaragoza in the first case; Madrid-Málaga and Madrid-Córdoba in the second, and Madrid-Alicante and Madrid-Murcia in the third), more than 20% of passengers come from other routes, the CNMC concludes.

The coalition agreement between the PSOE and Sumar states that "we will promote the reduction of domestic flights on routes where there is a rail alternative with a journey time of less than two and a half hours, except in cases of connections to hub airports that connect with international routes." In other words, air travel would be exempt from the restrictions.