Free Train Ride! Spain Govt makes rail journey free of cost, here's WHY?

Spanish government announces 100 percent discounts on train services starting from September 1; this includes long-distance travel and single-journey tickets.

Image Source: YouTube

Across Spain, the public transport prices on state-owned service have come down to half as a response to the rapid increase in inflation rates. However, to make it easier for passengers, the Spanish government has decided to offer a 100 percent discount on train journeys. As of September, passengers will be able to travel across various trains operated by public train network Renfe for absolutely nothing.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez recently announced that starting from September 1, multi-journey tickets for trains operated by the network's public services ‘Cercanías, Rodalies and Media Distance’ will be free of cost until the end of 2022. This includes long-distance travel and single-journey tickets according to public broadcaster TVE. Soon after the government announced a reduction of 50 percent on public transport fees, the Renfe scheme was release. 

"This measure encourages to the maximum the use of this type of collective public transport to guarantee the needed daily commute with a safe, reliable, comfortable, economic and sustainable means of transportation, amid the extraordinary circumstances of the steady increase of energy and fuel prices," the Spanish Ministry of Transport said in a statement.

Spain isn't the only European country that's taken measures to reduce public transport costs. Apart from Spain, to give passengers an economic train journey, Germany also launched an unlimited monthlypublic transport ticket which can be used on local and regional transport across Europe.