Iryo adds to its fleet as it targets major service expansion in 2027

SPAIN: High speed operator Iryo is to expand its service offering by 13.8% in 2027, the company announced on August 31 as it confirmed that its trains can now be booked a year in advance.

The company said that over the next year, it will add three more Hitachi-built ETR1000 trainsets to its fleet, enabling it to strengthen its offer by adding more than 2 700 new trips, delivering a 13.8% increase in its overall capacity.

The first of the three extra trains was delivered to Santa Catalina depot in Madrid on August 26; these form part of options attached to the base €920m order for 20 ETR1000 trainsets placed by Iryo shareholder Trenitalia in November 2023. Iryo currently has a fleet of 19 trains following the derailment at Adamuz; one driving car of train 109012 is reported to be stored at Villanueva de Córdoba awaiting a decision on repairs.

In total, Iryo expects to run 22 764 services in 2027, with its main focus for growth coming on routes linking Madrid with Barcelona and destinations in Andaluçia. The Madrid – Malaga route will see 1 367 additional train movements, and Madrid − Sevilla 1 091 more.

The company said that this expansion drive would have a notable benefit for intermediate stations on the various high speed routes it serves. Córdoba will gain 2 779 additional stops, while Ciudad Real and Puertollano will see better connectivity, with 1 834 more stops per year at each station. Zaragoza and Albacete will also see more services over the course of the next year.

Iryo’s expanded timetable will emphasise early morning and late afternoon travel options, facilitating same-day business travel between Spain’s principal cities.

In the medium term, the operator aspires to launch services along the coastal Mediterranean Corridor between Barcelona and València, but delays to dual-gauging work mean it is unlikely that 1 435 mm gauge trains will be able to use the route until at least the end of next year.

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