Spanish airline Air Nostrum offers its own train company

Air Nostrum co-founded Iryo with the Italian company Trenitalia. The former 55 percent of the shares, Trenitalia 45 percent. The train sets ordered by the company are also manufactured in Italy by Hitachi Rail and Alstom. They are called ETR400s that can travel 360 kilometers per hour. The first units have already been delivered and are now being tested.

Spain now has an extensive network of high-speed lines, as a result of which the aircraft has lost a lot of ground as a domestic transport. Viewed this way, it’s no surprise that Air Nostrum is investing in high-speed trains. With Iryo, which is being marketed as an economy brand, Air Nostrum hopes to transport nearly 50 million rail passengers within ten years.

increased competition
Competition for the Spanish high-speed rail network is growing. In addition to the Spanish national railway company Renfe, the French SNCF is already active there with the Ouigo brand. This resulted in fierce competition, which resulted in lower ticket prices. Consumers are taking advantage of this and are increasingly choosing the high-speed train.

Elsewhere in Europe as well, there is increased competition for railways due to liberalization. Experts view this as an important step to better compete with the aircraft. In Italy, italo’s own Trenitalia has been fighting for years. Trenitalia also wants to drive in France, and Spain’s Renfe plans to compete with Eurostar. First between London and Paris, and perhaps later also towards Amsterdam.

Air Nostrum operates several flights under the Iberian flag.