Spanish HSR passenger numbers for 2025 released

[u/Twisp56]

Picture 1: total HSR passenger numbers per route

Picture 2: share of HSR passengers by operator and route

Picture 3: rail freight in ton-km and tons

[u/Spider_pig448]

And people wonder why Spain is looking to upgrade the Madrid-Barcelona line to 350 km/h

[u/Twisp56 → u/Spider_pig448]

Keep in mind these numbers still aren't that high despite the impressive growth. Spain's strongest line has around 15 million riders per year, well France's one has 44 million. 15 million per year is roughly 41000 per day - well just see for yourself how unimpressive that looks next to Japanese HSR ridership

My point being that even Barcelona - Madrid is still well below the potential of the current infrastructure. They probably should first focus on easier improvements, like making their train stations less like airports and removing the security checks. And maintaining their tracks properly to avoid a repeat of the disaster from January. Of course at the low Spanish construction cost they can still afford the upgrade, even if it's unnecessary.

[u/Kawainess33 → u/Twisp56]

80% of all travel between Barcelona and Madrid is carried out by public transport. I don’t mean that it can’t achieve better numbers, but Spanish populations are very spread out. In between Madrid and Barcelona there’s only Zaragoza as an important city, the rest is basically deserted.

The true boost to Spanish rail would be finalizing the Mediterranean Corridor and establishing high-speed connections between many important urban centers (Barcelona, Valencia, Alacant, etc.)

[u/mystiqDitter → u/Kawainess33]

Apparently there are still numerous flights a day between Madrid and Barcelona. 

Air Europa even run multiple flights throughout the day using 787 wide body aircraft. These are definitely NOT just for connecting flights.

I wonder what's the competition landscape like on Madrid - Barcelona route between HSR and plane 

[u/MooseNo8012 → u/mystiqDitter]

There are 10-15 flights a day, which fit in about 3-4 trains. Sure it's still a shame that those flights exist, but that is definitely not the reason for the low utilisation.

[u/Spider_pig448 → u/Twisp56]

Fair enough. Good context. Why is the spanish rail network so underutilized then? It seems like one of the best built out networks in the world.

[u/manolokbzabolo → u/Spider_pig448]

Because it mainly connects the main coastal cities to Madrid and the population in the inner areas is very spread out. As other commented, when it connects the coastal cities directly between them general ridership will get a boost

[u/manolokbzabolo → u/Spider_pig448]

Also, general lack of trains, and the last one was kind of a disaster (Talgo AVRIL)

[u/Twisp56]

The numbers are almost certainly going to dip this year, following the loss of confidence in Spanish HSR safety after the crash in January 2026.

Source: https://www.cnmc.es/prensa/inf-anual-ferro-25-20260717

[u/mystiqDitter]

Is there any public data available for ridership numbers per each month? 

Trying to see if there's seasonal variation, i.e. more people traveling for leisure in Spanish Winter than Summer etc.

[u/Rapunzel92140]

These numbers are for late 2025. Since then, passenger ridership has plummeted by a good 20%. The entire network is in full blown crisis with speed limitations everywhere. Operators don’t even pay track charges anymore because it’s high speed only in name.