Six days. Five overnight stays in five cities in Spain. Lunch in Paris. Stopover in Barcelona. Then Córdoba, Seville, Granada and Málaga. An Andalusia Whirlwind Tour where we visit the Mezquita and the Alhambra. We’re touring Andalusia in October 2023 to follow the trend of travelling to hot spots outside summer, as we did with Italy in 2022.

SNCF from Paris-Gare-de-Lyon to Barcelona-Sants, Renfe from Sants to Córdoba. So for the next train, we chose Iryo, Renfe’s main competitor for high speed trains in Spain. As we are who are, we chose the Infinita class.

Iryo is the brand of Intermodalidad de Levante S.A. (ILSA), a private high-speed rail operator in Spain. The company is jointly owned by the Italian state-owned railway company Trenitalia, the Spanish regional airline Air Nostrum, and the Spanish infrastructure investment fund Globalvia.

The Iryo brand was launched in November 2021, one year prior to the commencement of its first services, which ran on the Madrid- Barcelona high-speed rail line in competition with Renfe and Ouigo España. 

Throughout 2023, additional services covering Madrid – Córdoba – Seville/Málaga and Madrid – Albacete – Alicante have been launched. The company has publicly declared its intention to pursue a 30 percent market share along its routes. 

The bulk of Iryo’s fleet comprises 20 Frecciarossa 1000 high speed train sets. 

Via Trenitalia, a subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS) is on it’s way to conquer Europe. It wants a piece of the pie in the Belgium and Netherlands to link these Benelux countries to Paris and France and to Barcelona and Spain. In Spain, Treinitalia has Iryo. From Paris, Trenitalia can bring you to Milan. Real-life ‘Ticket To Ride‘.

Red Arrow 1000

For all this caesarian conquering, Trenitalia has cohorts of Frecciarossa 1000 train sets, which we sampled in Italy before, in 2019 and in 2022. 

The Frecciarossa 1000 was co-developed as a joint venture between Italian rail manufacturer Hitachi Rail Italy (initially AnsaldoBreda) and multinational conglomerate Alstom (initially Bombardier Transportation). Both design and production work were divided between the two partner companies.

Design work on the train began in 2008, with considerable design work performed by Italian design icon Bertone, which is mostly known for its coachwork of cars. It was heavily based on existing products, including Bombardier’s Zefiro and AnsaldoBreda’s V250 trains. 

The design was modified to conform with the requirements of the Trenitalia tender. In 2010, the ETR 1000 was selected and a total of 50 train sets were ordered to meet Trenitalia’s needs. Upon the public unveiling of the first example of the type, it was hailed as being the fastest train to reach series production in Europe at that time.

Classes

Iryo offers four classes or fares in Spain. There’s no Business Executive as in Italy. It doesn’t need to, as the competition, doesn’t offer an equivalent.

1. Infinita: High comfort without limits with the Bistro Dining Service option by booking up to 24 hours before travel.
2. Singular Only YOU: The perfect workspace for entrepreneurs and companies with complimentary water and coffee and where you can enjoy all the unique experiences and benefits of the Only YOU Hotels.
3. Singular: Comfort, technology and 5G. Our fare to save money on your business trips with excellent options if you need to change your ticket.
4. Inicial:​ A space designed for every type of traveller.

Although we booked Infinita, we did not have catering. The journey was only an hour anyway.

Our journey

The train was late, some 45 minutes. Which was annoying as we had time slots for the Real Alcázar (Royal Castle) in Seville and the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See. And we wanted to at least drop our bags at the hotel.

Storing them in a locker at Seville-Santa-Justa Railway Station would have been an options, but there are no lockers. 

First class

A striking red outside, a stylish mocha inside. Brown and beige dominate and give Italian vibes. The leather seat is comfortable and has a power outlet and USB ports. 

We sat in a bay of four so we had plenty of legroom. Our luggage had plenty of room as well.

Obviously there’s WiFi. Screens inform you with the itinerary and other messages.

So?

Our journey was short and don’t involve any any catering so its hard to formulate a decent opinion. But Iryo’s Infinita looks promising. 

If Trenitalia succeeds at starting an Amsterdam – Antwerp – Brussels – Paris – Lyon – Barcelona service, we hope there will be Business Executive. 

2023 Andalusia Whirlwind Tour

1. PRELUDE | Visiting Gibraltar in 2013.
2. REVIEW | Eurostar Amsterdam – Antwerp – Brussels – Paris in 2023.
3. PARIS | Restaurant Le Train Bleu at the Gare de Lyon.
4. REVIEW | SNCF TGV inOui from Paris-Gare-de-Lyon to Barcelona-Sants.
5. REVIEW | Hotel Barcelo Sants.
6. INTERMEZZO | Spain saw a surge of Belgians visiting in the first quarter of 2024.
7. SPAIN | Renfe Sala Club or Club Lounge at Adif stations.
8. REVIEW | Renfe AVE in Premium from Barcelona-Sants to Córdoba.
9. SPAIN | The Mezquita or Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba.
10. CÓRDOBA | The Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos or Castle of the Christian Monarchs.
11. REVIEW | Hotel Eurostars Palace Córdoba.
12. ANDALUSIA | Half a day in Córdoba.