Ouigo cuts 15,000 seats on train routes between Madrid, Malaga and Seville

High-speed rail company Ouigo has cut 15,000 seats on its Madrid to Andalucía routes, citing "operational reasons". The company has cancelled most of its services on the southern corridor from 9 to 22 January, removing eight daily services from Friday to Monday on the Madrid-Seville and Madrid-Malaga routes and six daily services from Tuesday to Thursday.

"Ouigo is firmly committed to service quality and we deeply regret any inconvenience that this situation may have caused our passengers," company sources said, adding that this measure aims to guarantee the quality of the service provided. Impacted passengers will be able to choose between changing their ticket free of charge or cancelling it and receiving a full refund, plus compensation ranging from 50% to 200% of the price of the ticket.

In response, state railway operator Renfe has launched special services to attend to passengers affected by the cancellations. There will be two special services between Madrid and Seville with low-cost AVLO trains, with ticket prices starting from seven euros. They can be purchased from Friday, 9 January. The first of these trains is scheduled to depart at 12pm, while the second will leave from Seville at 5.17pm.

The company has stated that, if necessary, it will increase the capacity of its trains in this corridor and schedule additional special services in both directions.

Renfe also reminds passengers that, according to regulations, "they can seek alternative public transport, such as Renfe", if they are not offered a solution within 100 minutes of the scheduled departure time. In addition, they can seek compensation from the company.