THIS is Spain's BEST train.
Today I'll be riding this beauty on rails, for an incredible high-speed journey.
Starting in Barcelona, Catalonia, we'll be riding directly to the Spanish capital, Madrid.
Along the way, we'll be checking out just what makes this train so special - from the
exclusive lounge set up in a nearby 5-star hotel, to the train's brand-new designer interior.
We'll also enjoy the complimentary meal service; well presented, with Spanish wine included.
And all this, at 300km/h (186mph)!
Hello, and welcome back to another video!
Today I'm here at Barcelona-Sants, and I'm going to be travelling on the all-new Iryo
service in Gran Comfort class down to Madrid.
Now this service is one I've been looking forward to ever since it was announced - so
let's go!
Welcome to Barcelona, Spain's second largest city, and the capital of the autonomous community
of Catalonia.
This is Sants station, the largest in the city, and where pretty much every long-distance
service from the city departs.
Despite its modern looking construction, the station here today dates back to 1975, with
a design similar to that of an airport.
Inside, you can expect to find a good selection of food outlets, as well as an ample quantity
of various shops.
Iryo has a small presence at the station, in the form of their ticket office.
But as my ticket grants me access to the lounge, I need to walk a few minutes to the nearby
Nobu Hotel.
Awaiting on the first floor of this five star hotel, you can find the Casa Iyro.
This lounge can be accessed depending on your ticket type, or loyalty status, and is situated
just across the road from Barcelona-Sants.
Though make sure you leave about 15 minutes early to catch your train.
With a smart mix of Iberian and Japanese design, I have to say, this lounge is very nice.
There's no free food here, but you can get some water, as well as premium tea blends...and
a Nespresso coffee machine too.
I went for the ginger and lemon tea, something I've not had before - and it was great!
If you do want something else, then you can order from the restaurant here, but as I'm
eating on-board, I decided not to - that and the fact a juice was €8.
Arriving here early will leave you enough time to visit the Nobu Spa, though prices
were multiple times more than that of my ticket - more info on that later on.
So by now, you're probably wondering what this new Iryo train is all about.
For many years, all trains in Spain were operated by Renfe, the national operator.
In 2021, this all changed, with the liberisation of the market allowing other companies to
compete on select routes.
Firstly, the French SNCF started running low-cost Ouigo trains between Madrid and Barcelona,
followed closely by Avlo, which is Renfe's own low-cost brand.
And last but not least, a joint venture of Italy's Trenitalia, and the Spanish regional
airline, Air Nostrum - which formed Iryo, who aim to compete for the higher end of the
market.
As I've now travelled on all of these services, I have to say that Iryo is my favourite, and
I can't wait to show you why!
But let's head over to the station to check out our high-speed train for today.
All high-speed train journeys in Spain require an airport-style security check.
Though don't worry, it's quick, and you can still bring your liquids.
Once through, there's little more than some seating and a small, but very popular café.
So my train today will be Iryo number 6160, the 15:55 service to Madrid.
With a ticket inspection before boarding, it's time to head down to the platform.
And here it is, one of Iryo's beautiful series 109 trainsets.
Built as recently as 2022 by Alstom and Hitachi in Italy.
The units are named the Frecciarossa 1000, which means 'Red Arrow' in Italian - a nice
nod to the company's ownership.
And you can certainly see where they get the name from, with the aerodynamic cab looking
fantastic in Iryo's striking livery.
Iryo trains consist of eight carriages, with five of them being regular 'Confort' carriages,
equivalent to Second Class.
At the other end of the train, you can find the stylish buffet car, as well as 'Gran Confort
XL' carriages, equivalent to First Class.
Anyway, time to get on-board and find my seat!
Gran Confort XL carriages are in a 2+1 seating layout.
I'll be sitting in Coach 1, Seat 9D today, a forward facing solo seat.
It's soon time for departure, but first, let's take a look at today's route.
For today's speedy journey, we'll be heading west along the impressive Barcelona to Madrid
high-speed line, stopping just once at Zaragoza-Delicias.
The journey is scheduled to take just two hours and 45 minutes to cover the 626 kilometres,
or about 389 miles.
The train departs on-time, at 15:55, leaving the station behind for the tunnels beneath
the City of Barcelona.
Before long though, we're out in the open again, now running alongside one of Spain's
many commuter railways.
Whilst the high-speed railways in Spain are built to an international standard gauge,
historically the Spanish rail network used the Iberian broad gauge.
As we make our way out of the city, the on-board service begins.
This starts with a refreshing hot towel service, ahead of the upcoming meal.
And let me tell you, I was certainly looking forward to a meal at high-speed today.
This is then shortly followed by a wine list, and a bit of info about the catering service,
including a QR code to access the menu.
Before the meal, a welcome drink is served, consisting of some local wine, served with
assorted nuts.
So this is where things start getting a little bit more complex.
Iryo has SIX different fare types, each with its own set of benefits and a unique name.
There are also many additional options, such as food.
For most fares, this comes at a small cost, except for this one, where it's usually included.
That is unless you select this fare, and then click the upgrade, in which case it's optional.
But if you pick this fare and then upgrade, there is no option for food at all.
Of course if you do end up without the food option, then you can still buy it on-board
from the buffet.
I decided to keep things simple, and bought the Infinita Bistró fare, which does include
a premium meal - and what great presentation too!
Iryo's on-board catering is branded as 'HAIZEA', which means 'wind' in Basque language.
The idea is to provide a First Class experience, with healthy and high-quality cuisine and
beverages, and locally inspired recipes that change seasonally.
My meal was various vegetables with tofu and dip, which personally I thought was pretty
decent.
For dessert, there's a small fruit pot, accompanied by the world's hardest bread roll.
This was of course served with a locally produced Cava sparkling wine.
And to finish off, a cup of tea.
Overall, I thought this was a tasty and well presented meal, though let me know what you
think of the catering in the comments!
Back outside, our journey is progressing nicely, as we speed through Camp de Tarragona.
This is a smaller high-speed station, which receives a reduced service compared to the
more major stops on this route.
Whilst technically capable of an incredible speed of 400km/h (250mph), these train run
at 'just' 300km/h (186mph).
I'm sure you'll agree though, this is still an impressive speed!
Anyway, let's take a look at the seat.
As I mentioned earlier, Gran Confort XL is in a 2+1 layout, with spacious and comfortable
seats.
Personally, I think they look very stylish, with a smart beige leather design.
For comfort, these seats offer some decent padding and support.
There's also a gently winged headrest, smartly marked with the Iryo logo.
Every seat gets a pair of wide adjustable armrests.
Iryo proudly markets its trains as having the most space between seats, and just looking
at this, you can certainly tell how spacious these trains are.
And speaking of space, just look at how much legroom there is!
For a modern high-speed train, this is definitely some of the more generous seat spacing I've
seen.
There's also an adjustable footrest attached to the seat in front.
On the armrest you can find a button that controls the seat's recline, but to be honest,
this was very limited.
Now on to the power sockets, which rather amusingly work with both standard European
and also Italian plugs.
One of these sockets is available at every seat, with a USB socket too.
Finally, there's a folding seatback table, with a nice wooden finish.
About one hour and twenty minutes through the journey, we're on the approach to Zaragoza-Delicias.
Zaragoza is Spain's 10th largest city, and therefore is served by many high-speed trains
daily by means of a small extension to the high-speed line.
The modern station opened in 2003, and is the main station of the city, also serving
regional and commuter trains.
Following a brief stop, it's time to continue to Madrid, once again running non-stop for
one hour and twenty minutes.
After departure, we loop back round the city to rejoin the high-speed line.
As the train begins to accelerate again, we can catch a glimpse of a few other trains.
This is one of the local commuter trains, but more interestingly, this is a Japanese
built freight locomotive.
We also pass by Zaragoza Plaza depot, used for maintenance on Renfe's regional fleet,
as well as to store many abandoned trains.
The sun is setting, meaning we are quickly running out of daylight.
So let's turn our attention back to the inside of the train.
There's no denying that the interior of this train is every bit as stylish as the exterior.
With beautiful warm spot lighting, and premium materials which just look the part.
Even the vestibule area looks absolutely amazing!
Anyway, let's take this opportunity to have a look around the rest of the train.
Coach 2 is another Gran Confort XL carriage.
Note that unlike on AVE trains, these seats don't rotate.
Coach 3 features the Singular Only YOU seating.
This is marketed as an area for business travellers, and also includes discounts on select Hotels
and Restaurants.
Further along in Coach 3, we can find the HAIZEA café.
And wow, this design certainly looks incredible!
There's a good selection of snacks and drinks too, including plenty of local alcoholic beverages
- so you can just say you're indulging in the culture.
Moving into Coach 4, we reach the regular Confort seating.
This is in a 2+2 seating layout, much like Second Class in the rest of Europe.
Seating here is in an oxblood red colour, and it also looks very smart, much like the
rest of the train.
Our journey continues at 300km/h (186mph) for much of its duration, as the train gracefully
runs across valleys and through mountains.
This high-speed infrastructure is very impressive, and we've been running at top-speed for nearly
the entire journey.
You're probably wondering how much this cost, and we'll get to that shortly.
But first, let's take a quick look at the toilets.
As you may have guessed, they were in great condition (as you'd hope for a brand-new train).
The soap and water were both working perfectly fine, with a hand dryer provided too.
Oh, and as the outside of the train boasts, there is 5G-powered WiFi.
This network also has the 'Portal Yo', which has a selection of movies and TV shows on
offer.
So now on to how much this trip cost.
On this journey, I travelled with an Infinita ticket, including a Bistró menu, but without
the additional flexibility options.
This set me back a very precise €59.38, which I think is a fantastic price for a long
high-speed train journey between two major cities, especially considering the great level
of service and style on-board.
Until competition on this route began, it was common to find Second Class tickets at
a far higher price than what I paid today for First Class.
As the sun has nearly completely set, we are now closing in on Madrid.
Still speeding at 300km/h (186mph) in the sparsely populated lands of the Castilla–La
Mancha region, which neighbours the Spanish capital to its south and east.
This is Guadalajara, the region's second most populated city.
The station here is likely the least used on Spain's high-speed network, catering to
just 60 passengers per day.
The city is just 20 minutes away from Madrid, and before you know it we're already closing
in on the capital's main station.
And to top off what was already a fantastic journey, the train arrives into Madrid-Puerta
de Atocha not late, but eight minutes early.
So, let me know what you thought of Iryo in the comments!
Personally, I think they operate Spain's best train!
Anyway, for a ride with Spain's national operator, on their bizarre looking Talgo high-speed
trains, then click up here now to continue the journey.