Young Spaniards will be able to travel by train at a lower cost.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Saturday that the state would apply a 50% reduction on the European Interrail pass for young people aged 18 to 30.
This pass allows you to travel on an unlimited number of trains in 33 European countries.
The measure will be adopted at the next Council of Ministers, on May 9.
According to Pedro Sanchez, young people "
deserve it after this pandemic [...] so that they can know all the regions, promote tourism and knowledge of historical cultural heritage
".
In addition to this device, the State also provides them with a reduction of 90% on the price of trains and buses from Spanish companies and 50% on high-speed trains on the AVE network.
In September, the Spanish government had already taken a first step with the launch of free rail passes for regional and suburban trains.
A success according to Renfe, Spanish rail operator, which highlights 2.1 million subscriptions issued in the first quarter.
Read alsoIn Germany, Berlin wants to boost the train
No similar measures in France
This announcement comes after that of Germany and its “Deutschlandticket”, launched on May 1st.
At 49 euros per month, it allows you to travel on the entire public transport network and regional trains.
During presales, which started in early April, 250,000 titles were sold in the first three days.
The objective is thus to "
financially relieve the citizens faced with the sharp rise in energy prices
", explains the federal government, "
at the same time, it must considerably increase the attractiveness of public transport, encourage more people to travel from cars to buses and trains and thus contribute to the achievement of climate objectives
”.
A financing agreement has been signed between the regions and the State and each will put 1.5 billion euros per year on the table.
This sum will notably make it possible to avoid further widening the deficit of 30 billion euros of Deutsche Bahn, the national rail operator.
On the side of France, this option is not, for the time being, considered.
“
In Germany, we have not observed a modal shift of users towards the use of the train and it is very expensive
”, explained this Sunday on BFMTV the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, before adding that “
It deprives [le] of resources to finance the railway
”.
“
We will do our best to make tickets cheaper to reduce the cost of the train
,” the minister also assured.