More AVE Services Between Málaga and Madrid from July
Renfe is increasing its AVE service between Málaga and Madrid from July 17, adding eight extra trains each week to strengthen capacity during the busy summer season. The additional services will increase the number of weekly AVE departures between the two cities from 166 to 174, with extra trains focused on the busiest travel days. Two additional frequencies will operate on Fridays and Sundays, when demand is typically highest.
The new services include a late evening departure from Madrid on Fridays, leaving at 21:20 and arriving in Málaga at 00:10, together with additional evening departures from Málaga on weekdays and Sundays. The timetable changes coincide with the restoration of double-track operation through the Álora area on the Málaga–Madrid high-speed route. The section had been operating with reduced capacity following severe damage caused by heavy rainfall in February, with Adif carrying out extensive repair work to restore the second track.
Although one track was reopened at the end of April, work continued on the infrastructure, including electrification, signalling and drainage improvements. The full restoration of double-track operation allows Renfe to introduce the additional services while improving reliability on one of Spain's busiest high-speed corridors. The Málaga–Madrid AVE route provides an important link between the Costa del Sol and the Spanish capital, serving both leisure and business travellers. The additional summer capacity will provide more flexibility for passengers travelling between Andalucía and Madrid during the peak holiday period.
Breda–Tilburg Line to Close for Summer Engineering Works
Rail services between Breda and Tilburg will be suspended for almost two weeks later this month while infrastructure manager ProRail carries out engineering work on the line. The closure will run from July 28 until August 8, during which no trains will operate between Breda and Tilburg.
NS will provide replacement bus services throughout the works, including stopping buses serving Gilze-Rijen, Tilburg Reeshof and Tilburg Universiteit, together with express buses operating directly between Breda and Tilburg.
Passengers travelling between Den Haag Centraal or Rotterdam Centraal and Eindhoven are advised to travel via Utrecht Centraal, avoiding the affected section of the railway.
NS has warned that journeys through the area are likely to take between 30 and 45 minutes longer than usual, depending on the destination, and has advised passengers to check journey planners before travelling.
The closure forms part of a wider programme of summer engineering works taking place across the provinces of Noord-Brabant and Limburg between mid-June and mid-September, with passengers likely to encounter further timetable changes, diversions and replacement transport on other routes during this period.
Daily Warszawa–Kyiv Train Planned from December
Media reports suggest that PKP Intercity is preparing to introduce a new daily international train linking Warszawa and Kyiv, with services expected to begin on December 13, subject to regulatory approval.
According to documents reportedly submitted to Poland's rail regulator, the proposed service would operate daily between Warszawa Zachodnia and Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi, via the border crossing at Dorohusk, with approval being sought for an initial operating period running until December 2031.
The proposed service would be reserved exclusively for international passengers, with PKP Intercity reportedly not planning to sell tickets for domestic journeys within Poland. This would ensure that capacity is prioritised for passengers travelling between Poland and Ukraine.
The application marks the start of the regulatory process rather than confirmation that the service will operate. Infrastructure access, train paths, the final timetable and operational arrangements with Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) still need to be agreed before the train can be introduced.
If approved, the new service would further strengthen international rail links to Ukraine, adding a daily direct connection between the Polish and Ukrainian capitals alongside the growing number of cross-border services introduced in recent years.
European Sleeper Reroutes Paris–Berlin Night Train via Hamburg
Private operator European Sleeper has introduced a revised route for its overnight Paris–Berlin service, with trains now operating via Hamburg Harburg instead of taking the more direct route between the two capitals.
The new routing came into effect this week and is intended to expand journey opportunities by adding direct overnight links to northern Germany. European Sleeper says the inclusion of Hamburg Harburg also provides better onward connections for passengers travelling to destinations across northern Germany and Scandinavia.
The revised route increases the end-to-end journey time to around 18 hours. In addition to Hamburg, the train also calls at Liège, Brussels, and Aulnoye-Aymeries.
European Sleeper launched the Paris–Berlin service earlier this year, replacing the former Nightjet connection previously operated by ÖBB. The train continues to run three times a week, departing Berlin on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and Paris on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Photo: ID 203151165 © Elovkoff. Dreamstime.com
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