The European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) granted Renfe the EUAR safety certificate necessary to extend its operation in France, by delivering services on Barcelona – Toulouse rail route. The European regulator thus certifies that the Spanish operator complies with all the requirements imposed by the French Safety Agency (EPSF) and the Spanish Safety Agency (AESF).
The French and Spanish safety agencies have issued favourable reports so that Renfe can extend its Single Safety Certificate (SSC) from Perpignan to Toulouse, after verifying that the operator complies with the requirements regarding the corresponding risk analysis, equipment, driving personnel and intervention adaptation of the Safety Management System (SGS).
Once this safety certificate has been issued, Renfe will be able to start training itineraries for staff – drivers and inspectors – on the new line from January, with the aim of starting operation of the service in the second quarter of 2025.
Renfe will deliver passengers with six daily trains, with three in each direction, on Barcelona – Toulouse rail line that will connect 17 cities in both countries on a direct journey.
A large part of the routes served by international AVE trains could only be carried out, until Renfe came into service in France in July 2023. In this way, Renfe continues to work to guarantee the connected and sustainable mobility required by the project for a single European railway area.
With this procedure, Renfe becomes the first cross-border operator, connecting Spain and the main cities in the south of France and launch this third international route in the second quarter of 2025.
With the launch of this new international route, Renfe will consolidate its position as the leading operator of cross-border connections between Spain and France with its AVE trains.
In October, Renfe announced its plans to extend its high-speed rail services in France connecting Barcelona and Toulouse, with stops in Girona, Figueres/Vilafant, Perpignan and Carcassonne. With the addition of Toulouse and Carcassonne, there will now be eleven French cities with AVE service.
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