Iryo To València. And Later To Paris

On 16 December 2022, Iryo inaugurated its commercial service between Madrid Chamartín and València. There are initially just two train pairs daily, with departures from Madrid at 06.45  and 16.45, and from València at 10.00 and 20.00. End-to-end journey time varies between 1 h 49 and 1 h 55. At that time the operator had nine Class 109 trains in service, with four more undertaking test runs. 109.014 to 020 are still being built.

From February 2023 the service will increase to four train pairs daily, from March, six, and from June, eight pairs. In June a further service, Madrid to Alacant, will be added to the network. According to Iryo President, Carlos Bertomeu, the objective is to carry 1.25 million passengers between Madrid and València annually. 

On 14 December, FS Director, Luigi Ferraris, announced that Trenitalia, through its Iryo subsidiary, envisages the establishment of an international service linking Paris and Madrid in late 2024. Trenitalia currently operates a service between Paris and Lyon. This could be extended to Barcelona, to connect with existing Iryo services, though naturally a Frecciarossa could be used for the complete journey.

Ferraris also hinted at the possibility of a future through service linking Madrid, Marseille and destinations in northern Italy. This could also of course be a convenient means of connecting Spain with destinations in Austria, Switzerland and southern Germany.