Ouigo has opened a new route linking the Spanish capital with the southeastern region of Murcia.
The launch was on Thursday September 5th and from now there will be two daily services in each direction.
Trains leave from Madrid’s Chamartín-Clara Campoamor station and Murcia’s El Carmen station.
The trains departing from Murcia leave every day at 12.39 and 20.39, whereas from Madrid they leave at 8.15 and 16.15.
The total journey time is 2 hours and 45 minutes, according to Ouigo.
All in all, 2,000 passengers will be able to travel at 300km/h between the two cities on Ouigo’s two-storey trains, 14,000 a week.
The new rail link will add a new stop to Ouigo’s network - the city of Elche in Alicante province.
The Madrid-Murcia route will also connect with the pre-existing stop in the city of Albacete.
Tickets first went on sale at the end of May when Ouigo confirmed the new route. They can be purchased on the company's website.
A single adult fare starts at €9 but prices are dynamic so you could end up paying around €30 for a return, which is still very reasonable.
There are also add-ons such as ticket upgrades, travelling with a pet, extra luggage and choosing a seat which will of course mean the price is higher.
Children under 3 travel for free, while a ticket for an under 13 costs €7 normally.
Additionally, there are travel options for people with disabilities at no extra cost.
The new Madrid-Murcia Ouigo train is further good news for the often overlooked southeastern coastal region nestled between Alicante and Almería, as for almost two decades they waited for a high-speed rail link to Murcia from the capital.
This was finally resolved when Renfe launched its AVE in December 2022.
Ouigo plans to continue expanding its offering in October 2024 by adding three Andalusian cities to its network: Córdoba, Málaga and Seville.
There is already a low-cost rail option connecting Madrid with Murcia operated by Avlo, the low-cost subsidiary of Spain’s state-run rail company Renfe, which began linking the two cities in December 2023.
In this case, adult single tickets start at €7 and include a few more stops (Cuenca, Albacete, Villena, Alicante, Elche and Orihuela).
Spain’s other new low-cost rail operator, Iryo, also plans to connect Madrid to Murcia, but the launch has been postponed until 2026.
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