AVE high-speed trains finally arrive in Murcia after 19 years of delays

The region of Murcia finally has an Ave high-speed train service connected to Madrid after waiting 19 years for work on the line to be completed.

After a wait of 19 years, the Region of Murcia finally has a high-speed train connection with Madrid. King Felipe VI of Spain inaugurated the AVE line between Madrid and Murcia today, Monday, December 19. He was accompanied by Pedro Sanchez, the President of the Government.

The very first sleepers of the track were laid in place back on December 15, 2003. An investment of around €1,900 million has made the dream a reality for residents of this part of the country.

“Today we are not only bringing Murcia closer to the capital of Spain, but today we are putting an end to a railway isolation”, explained President Sanchez.

Su Majestad Felipe VI y el presidente del Gobierno, Pedro Sánchez, viajan ya a bordo del AVE inaugural Madrid-Murcia. #MurciaMásCerca pic.twitter.com/PGWtJYq5lA

— Renfe (@Renfe) December 19, 2022

Fernando Lopez Miras, the president of the Region of Murcia, enthused: “We are going to squeeze this AVE to achieve the greatest profitability for our city. Getting here has not been an easy path, it is just the first step for the railway transformation for the Region of Murcia”.

At 1:40pm today, the inaugural trip of the Renfe AVE commercial route departed from Madrid’s Chamartin Clara Campoamor station, bound for Murcia del Carmen.

The 112 series convoy with a total of 12 accessible cars and a capacity of 353 seats made the journey of 2 hours and 45 minutes at a maximum speed of 300km/h. Passengers will be able to take advantage of this new service starting tomorrow, Tuesday 20.

Renfe launched a promotional campaign, from December 14 to the 29 of this month, in which 30,000 tickets have been put up for sale in standard class, for a price of €19, valid for travel until December 2023.

“Murcia had been waiting too long for this to be put into service, but in recent years we have given the boost it needed and the investment that was necessary”, assured Raquel Sanchez, the Minister of Transport, who also attended the opening ceremony, as reported by larazon.es.

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