Renfe rolls out new direct AVE high-speed train service between Malaga and Barcelona

The number of options for travelling by train between the north and south of Spain are fast expanding. State train operator Renfe has this Monday, 16 September, added a new direct AVE high-speed train service between Malaga and Barcelona, with a journey time of just under six hours.

The new frequency is in addition to the existing ones, with one extra in each direction, that links Malaga with Cordoba, Madrid, Zaragoza and Barcelona. It will depart daily from Malaga, except on Saturdays, at 5.57pm, and from Barcelona, from Monday to Friday, at 5.50am.

Therefore, the direct AVE from the capital of the Costa del Sol is scheduled to make stops in Cordoba (6.46pm) and Madrid (8.47pm), to continue on to Zaragoza (10.26pm) and will finally arrive in Barcelona at 11.55pm.

In the opposite direction, the service will leave Barcelona at 5.50am, with stops in Zaragoza (7.33am), Madrid (9.10am), Cordoba (11.32am) and will arrive at Malaga's María Zambrano railway station at 12.36pm.

This new service between the coast and Barcelona is in addition to the existing ones, departing from Malaga at 8.25am and arriving in Barcelona at 2.21pm (5 hours and 56 minutes). Another option is to take the train at 4.18pm and arrive at 10.36pm.

For the return journey, there is also the option of leaving at 8.35am, arriving on the Costa del Sol at 2.56pm. You can also take the train at 3.15pm and arrive at 9.45pm.

In any case, Renfe offers almost ten options to connect both destinations by means of connections at Madrid's Atocha station. These are combined journeys, under a single and guaranteed ticket, according to the public railway operator.

Private operator Iryo has also announced a direct service connecting Malaga with Barcelona from 15 December. With two frequencies a day, one outbound and one return, seven days a week, the route will have stops in Zaragoza, Madrid and Cordoba, with a journey time of five hours and 50 minutes.

Iryo will offer a total of 336,530 seats on this line every year. The new service will depart from Barcelona at 11.50am and will arrive in the capital of the Costa del Sol at 5.42pm. On the reverse route, it will depart from Malaga's María Zambrano station at 11.35am and arrive at Barcelona Sants at 5.37pm.