The Barcelona Chamber of Commerce asks the Ministry of Transport to explain what works are planned before interrupting the high-speed service between the two cities for up to two years.
The Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, chaired by Josep Santacreu, opposes the Government completely interrupting the high-speed service between Barcelona and Madrid for a period of up to two years. According to El Nacional, the entity believes that the proposal cannot be accepted as it has been presented and demands that the right of users to travel safely and efficiently is guaranteed.
The entity argues that there is no feasible alternative to accommodate passengers from this line, neither by air nor by rail. Therefore, the first action that corresponds to the Ministry of Transport is to clearly inform about the planned works on the corridor. Once known, the Chamber requests that they be planned in phases to minimize the impact and provide a reliable transport alternative for those who need to travel.
The significance of the corridor explains the concern. In 2025, the Madrid-Barcelona line recorded 14.4 million passengers, nearly a third of the high-speed demand in the country. That year, it was also the only state corridor whose ticket sales revenues exceeded costs by 6%.
According to data cited by the Chamber, between January and June 2026, air traffic between Barcelona and Madrid increased by 16.3%, about 84,000 more passengers, while the high-speed line lost approximately one million passengers in the same period. In the event of a cut, around 9 million passengers with origins or destinations in Madrid-Barcelona would require about 70 flights each way per day, compared to the approximately 14 that Iberia operated on the route, according to the same source.
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