Ouigo

The fight between Ouigo and Renfe goes far beyond the price war. The last battlefield: the workshops

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Beyond the corridors and the prices proposed by the different companies, the battle between Ouigo and Renfe seems to have no limits. Competitors in Spanish high speed are intensifying their crashes. The last: the use of workshops. But the last crash is by no means the only one. The workshops. The information is brought Chain Being. The media outlet claims to have had access to internal documents in which Renfe accuses Ouigo of carrying out maintenance operations that exceed the marked limits. From Chain Being They point out that Renfe understands that Ouigo is carrying out work that is not permitted in space. The Spanish company understands that the type of repairs carried out there are contrary to the signed agreements and current regulations. It must be taken into account that, for its maintenance operations, Ouigo uses Renfe workshops under a rental contract. However, the contract does not allow any type of activity to be carried out there. Heavy or light. That is, according to the media, the key. Renfe understands that Ouigo is carrying out heavy maintenance work at its facilities, which is not supposed to be allowed. According to the Railway Sector Law, Renfe is obliged to allow access to its facilities (even if it charges for it) so that other companies can carry out light maintenance such as cleaning the vehicles or minor repairs. Renfe assures that the Alstom-Ateinsa workers, whom Ouigo hires to carry out this maintenance, are carrying out heavy maintenance tasks such as replacing parts, fixing breakdowns or changing wiring, always depending on the medium. This contravenes the signed agreements since Renfe would not be obliged to provide said service in its facilities. But, yes, the problem is that the regulations do not clearly specify what is or is not “heavy maintenance.” The problem is that everything is a gray area. The Directive 2012/34/EU on the single railway space, all non-routine activities are classified as heavy maintenance. However the standard EN 15380-4:2021 understands that heavy maintenance will only be understood if parts of the train have to be dismantled. Viability. In Xataka We have contacted both companies but, so far, we have not received a response. What they point out in the radio is that Ouigo assures that denying them access to the workshops would imply that they would not be able to provide the service adequately and, therefore, their two-year viability plan would be at risk. Ouigo points out that they are only doing work on “greasing and controlling levels, leaks and temperatures in the pit”, in words that would be included in the documents. For Renfe this exceeds light maintenance but Ouigo defends that they are within the regulations. The alternative presented by Renfe, according to the documentation, is that Ouigo carries out these actions in its workshops but pays for them accordingly, hiring auxiliary services to be able to carry them out. Beyond the tracks. What is at stake between Ouigo and Renfe goes beyond the typical price war that we see on the roads and corridors. Both companies have clashed over the prices offered by each other but also over the access that Renfe has to the most central stationslike that of Atocha. And not only in Spain. Renfe has tried to return the move in France but has been complaining for some time that there land they are putting all possible suits on the wheels to prevent them from competing on French soil. On this occasion, the problem would lie in Renfe’s technical compliance to be able to operate on French roads. Photo | Ouigo and Renfe In Xataka | In the 19th century, Spain made the strange decision to build its roads in Iberian gauge. Now they are going to be a gift for Renfe in Galicia

give up the high cheap speed to Ouigo and Iro

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High speed Renfe output Low Cost In Madrid-Barcelona it is the chronicle of an announced death. The company was not obtaining bad results in the corridor with the AVE but the problems with the Avril trains have removed it from the race for the price. The company renounces high speed Low Cost In this corridor. This is all that has happened. Goodbye to Madrid-Barcelona Cheap. It will be from September 8 but the decision is taken, as confirmed by The country. Renfe Saca Avlo, its high price of low price, of the corridor that moves more traffic in Spain. It is a decision that backed by the failure of their Avril trains, which had to be removed a few weeks ago in this line. The company will relocate in birds to those who buy an avlo ticket for the dates after September 7, so they will get a small Upgrade without doing any disbursement. What happened? At the end of July, Renfe paralyzed the sale of tickets of the Avlo trains in Madrid-Barcelona. The decision, which seemed surprising, soon shows its true face: the Avril trains that provided this service had suffered damage during a trip. The information was revealed by The economistwho assured that cracks had been detected in the trains. Then a pull and loosen between the media and renfe. The company began denying what happened, speaking of reorganization. Time later he confirmed that trains had suffered damage and that would circulate at a lower speed. Subsequently, Some leaked photos They demonstrated the seriousness of the damage. Finally, Renfe withdrew the Avril from the line. Because? The causes that have caused the damage to the Avril trains built by Talgo are about to be revealed. In fact, a strip and loosen between both companies have already begun to settle who takes care of the damage. Trains are under guarantee Because they delivered just over a year ago. The Avril trains were sold as a milestone of the engineering of the Spanish trains. Ra take high speed to Galicia. The latter too suffered problems with the change of year and also accumulated delays in their first days In Galicia and Asturias. But, in addition, the Avril trains have also been criticized for their Low quality in interior materials or by the Strong shakes that occur when they are in motion, far from the best European high -speed trains. In the hands of Ouigo and Iro. With the departure of the Avlo, Renfe renounces the high cheap speed. Or, at least, to a good part of it because the company ensures that it will continue to offer “Competitive prices”. However, it is difficult to think that the latter is not a specific strategy, taking into account that the Avlo seat cost an average of 37 euros, for the more than 61 euros on average of the bird, According to CNMC data. In addition, the impact of Avlo was not less on the line. It is true that Renfe had a market share of 60.1% between Madrid and Barcelona in 2024 but 12.2% of the total market share was borrowed by Avlo. That is, most passengers already moved in AVE but the Avril trains allowed them to compete in a market that will now be more complicated, with trains with less available places. The second company that has been taking over Madrid-Barcelona is Iro, which accumulated 23.7% last year, while Ouigo stayed at 16.2%. Renfe, in addition, had managed to remove customers from Ouigo because both Avlo and Iryo grew two percentage points compared to 2023. A clear bias. However, Madrid-Barcelona is a corridor marked by high prices. As we have seen, most of the travelers continue to opt for the bird despite the fact that their tickets are, on average 25 euros more expensive than those of Ouigo, always According to CNMC data. Avlo, in fact, offered cheaper tickets than those of Iro (37.8 euros compared to the 40.3 euros of the Italians). This issue had caused Ouigo itself, which offered the cheapest tickets and yet had the slightest market share, would opt for some time to remove some of its trains and boost the Andalusian corridor, more price sensitive. Now he has a new open door to insist again on the high speed Madrid-Barcelona. Photo | Phil Richards In Xataka | Renfe has joined the “Slow Luxury” with a luxury alternative to visit Andalusia: Al-Andalus with tickets at 14,000 euros

Renfe trusted the Avril trains to face the Low Cost of Ouigo and Iro. They do not stop giving problems

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When the competition has pressed, Renfe has seen how his commitment to a low -cost service to the AVE had been as necessary. The problem is that this service, called Avlo, is operated by trains that in just over a year have not stopped giving problems. Retired avlos. It has returned to normal with the five Avlo trains frequencies between Madrid and Barcelona for the month of August but for a few days the cheap offer of the company in the corridor faded completely. First the five trains retired. Then the frequency was in three options in the day. Finally, they can already be bought normally. It is what Víctor de Elena accountjournalist electionomista.eswho had written an article last Friday explaining that Renfe had stopped offering his services of the Avlo line between Madrid and Barcelona. Since last Friday, when the information was published, the sale of tickets has been returning to normal. What happened? Everything indicates that Renfe has been putting patches to a complicated situation. He explained about Elena that Renfe had found a fissure in one of the components of the Bogies of an Avril train. This would have caused that, temporarily, it would be suspended The sale of all Avlo tickets in Madrid-Barcelona. Hours later, Renfe sources would confirm to the medium that during one of the maintenance reviews last Monday, July 21, one of the five 106 series presented “a fissure in an element of the tractor bogie called a bast.” Subsequently, a review of the five trains that serve and the affected systems were replaced. Now, according to Renfe “trains are operating without any anomaly.” More slowly. The trains operate, yes, but below the expected speed. They point out in electionomista.es That according to the State Railway and Adif Security Agency, Renfe operates the trains at 250 km/h of maximum speed, instead of the 300 km/ha those who were operating in a stretch of 190 kilometers that extends between Puerta de Atocha and Ariza (Zaragoza). In your communicationRenfe points out that the company “through its Renfe Travelers and Renfe engineering and maintenance, as a railway company and entity in charge of maintenance, respectively, as well as Talgo in its condition as manufacturer and the State Railway Security Agency, guarantee that the circulation and operation of trains is carried out with total security for travelers.” In the statement they point out that the offer is being reorganized with the S106 trains but do not specify anything about the speed at which trains circulate and emphasize that the sale of tickets is being made “normally.” In Xataka We have contacted the company but so far we have not obtained an answer. The Avril. The S106 series in which the fault has been detected corresponds to the trains known as Avril. Trains that since they were launched in 2024 They have caused various incidents. The S106 series It is designed by Renfe to fight the lowcost but also to be able to offer a service in Galicia that You will not have competition in the short term. For this last line, Renfe has 15 trains in his hands that can change the wide track automatically. Then, it has another 15 trains to operate between Madrid and Barcelona. Of the latter, they carry the specifications to operate as AVE but in five other trains the places have increased from 507 to 581 seats and thus be able to compete as a low cost option. A controversial arrival. When the Avril trains made an appearance they have already arrived surrounded by controversy. They launched in May 2024 but The material had been delivered with three years delay. Then, of the 30 trains, 12 of them had been delivered in a first lot. The first steps of the Avril were not the best. They promised to improve the connection between Galicia and Madrid but in the first days they registered delays of more than two hours and in later days of more than 30 minutes. Neither In the Asturian line The promised time sales were being fulfilled. But, in addition, the trains did not like among the experts either. Accounts in social networks that follow the current world of the train and its novelties portrayed the excess noise and vibrationsas well as They questioned the quality of some materials used in the rolling material. More incidents. The incidents did not stay here. Above all, Avril trains are remembered by the fault in the Galician line that on the first day of this year he left thousands of passengers on the ground or in the middle of nowhere. In a kind of “2000 effect”, trains were retained by a software problem With the year jump. And Barcelona-Madrid has not been the only one. Just a few days ago, a S106 series train collapsed at low speed at the Gijón station without consequences for travelers. At the moment, Renfe has not given explanations about what happened. Photo | André Marques 432 In Xataka | “In 1961 it took Bilbao for three hours and five minutes. Now it takes three and ten”: Cantabria and the drama of Spain with the train

Ouigo wanted to enter the Madrid-Galicia AVE but he already sees it impossible before 2030

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“We have no problem in competing (…) but whoever wants to come, to make the investments that it has to do and that competes on equal terms” Thus, Álvaro Fernández Heredia, president of Renfe, in the past Executive Forum where the manager approached the open door for the competitors of the trains company in Spain to take the first steps to reach Galicia, has sounded. Galicia. Renfe has entered the line between Madrid and Galicia. Although the company has had to face criticism for Do not meet the expected times and skip some stops in Zamora To reduce travel times, the Madrid-Galicia axis is working very well to the company. Only a few days ago we knew that Renfe was taking more travelers than ever. A semester of record in which this line has been key, where the train has begun to make shadow even the plane because it has better time connections if you want to travel in the day or make night and return to the origin early in the morning. The competition. A few months ago, Adif launched the Second package in liberalization of high -speed tracks. The runners are Madrid-Galicia, Madrid-Asturias/Cantabria and Madrid-Cádiz/Huelva where Ouigo, Iryo or any other company can present Renfe battle. However, this It is not expected until the next decade Because there are no trains available. Talgo has already compromised all its production of the Avril trains that work there and is aware of which roads the new owners of the company will take. This has caused a bottleneck impossible to solve if it is not renting the company’s rolling material. According to The reasonOuigo would have contacted Caf and Talgo to buy the trains but they are already committed. The only solution is to rent Renfe’s rolling material. “And if possible”. This possibility has been completely denied by Fernández Heredia, president of Renfe, with the words mentioned above. But not only that, the manager has launched a dart to his competitors, although he has not mentioned them directly, emphasizing that the one who enters the corridor will have to “compete in equal terms. And if possible, not to losses“ Public Service. Renfe’s dart is not causal. The company has long accused Ouigo of operating at losses in Spain and although the French company ensures that it is the usual strategy when entering a market and that they foresee short -term profits, the government has reached Threatening to report to the French before the European Commission. Renfe, unlike the French or Iryo, have the obligation to operate in some lines as a public service, which he weighs his results account. A good example is the Oscar Puente lamentMinister of Transportation, following his obligation to pass through Extremadura, emphasizing that this way of acting does not guarantee clean competition. More liberalizations. Renfe, for the moment, seems to be insured by the Galician corridor. The problem of the lack of trains is that anyone is worth it. Vehicles are needed that can change between Iberian and international width. This peculiarity leaves Renfe as a competitive advantage because he has some Avril who, Although not exempt from problemsnobody has. But also, Spain has to face new liberalizations very soon. Among them that of Cercanías, a very controversial area because these services are of public obligation. Only in its public services (nearby, medium distance, metric width and Avant), Renfe moved in the first semester of 2025 to 259.5 million passengers. Photo | Jose Luis Cernadas Iglesias and Patrick Janicek In Xataka | As Spain, China has built its high speed network in record time. Now face the same problem: keep it

He is beating passenger records despite Ouigo and Iro

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Renfe has had to apologize. He has done it in the mouth of Álvaro Fernández, its president, who has criticized the information in which he points to “rail chaos”. He has done it just when we have known another fact: Renfe never added as many passengers as in the first half of this year. 277.4 million. That is the number of travelers who have climbed to Renfe trains in the first six months of the year. The figure has been advanced by the company itself Who says they have risen to 3% more travelers compared to the same period last year. About 9 million more passengers. In this semester, Renfe has broken another record. June 20 was the day that more people were mounted on a company train, counting 135,600 travelers in 24 hours. It is an increase of 7,170 users (5.58%) compared to the previous record. The key. To achieve this growth, high speed has been key. According to Renfe, the impulse has been generated by the greatest offer from the exits from Madrid to Extremadura and Galicia, passing the latter through Castilla y León. In fact, it is specified that high speed has moved in the first half of 2025 to 17.9 million travelers between January and June 2025. One that is 10.9% higher than that recorded in the first half of 2024 when 1.8 million less passengers traveled. Yet. Passenger record figures arrive at a complicated time for Renfe. The first half of July has been marked by all kinds of delays. Some impossible to solve, such as the meteorological issues that stop the trains in Catalonia, but also for delays that They have hurt the company’s image. Just a few days ago, a Renfe train stopped again in Toledo. There, Adif has a black point that evidenced the problem of Spanish infrastructure at the beginning of the month when that same place caused the fall of the rail network in southern. An Ouigo train suffered a failure in its systems that forced a stop. This stop had an impact on the accumulation of trains in a small section, overloading the network and burning the Renfe Avant systems. The passengers 13 hours were passedNight included. Importual? It is not, much less, the only case. The Spanish rail system is winning the fame of unpunctual although its president says that 88% of trains reach their destination in time. And not only that, this places the company among the three most efficient in Europe, only behind the rail systems of Switzerland and the Netherlands. In Xataka We have asked Renfe what is the definition of “punctuality”, since the company extended last year the margin of time before the client so that he can request the total or partial refund of the ticket. Of the 30 minutes that were common until 2024 They went to 90 minutes from margin. So far, Renfe has not given us an answer. A 2025 controversy. That was last year but if something has characterized the first semester of 2025 have been the controversies that revolve around the company. On January one, what would come later. With the change of year, the new trains for The Madrid-Galicia route were detained. In the following months, more delays would arrive, such as those mentioned in July but also in April and May. 16,000 passengers were affected for the theft of copper on the railway tracks and the problem of an Iryo train with a catenary caused a domino effect that It resulted in more delays. To this we must add the controversies in the Galician corridor, with neighbors who protest the High -speed train stop suppression In a Zamorana station. EITHER The proposal of the mayor of Vigo to skip stops in Castilla y León for the train to arrive before. Photo | Germán Poo-Caamaño In Xataka | The center of Madrid is the last battle of Renfe and Ouigo: he wants to leave from Atocha and only Renfe has the approval

Ouigo excuses himself from the collapse in the bird and believes to know who is the culprit

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They were “13 hours trapped in the middle of a plain”. And, since then, the Government, Ouigo and Adif are trapped in a major battle. Specifically, to find a culprit to the collapse of high Andalusian speed last week. Thousands of affected travelers, many unknowns and only a safe thing: nobody wants to peeled. “A Sinking”. “How to attribute responsibility in the sinking of a road to stuck cars, something frequent and habitual.” This is how Ouigo has described in a statement, collected by Europa Pressthe report derived from the collapse of the high speed that was lived on June 30 when hundreds of travelers from the Andalusian corridor their trains were stopped But, above all, when the passengers of one of those trains spent the night in the bird, No water and without being rescued. That report has elaborated Adif And he points out that an Ouigo train was to blame for the collapse of the network. According to the infrastructure manager, the French company train “lost the check with the signal systems standing on the road.” That caused four other trains to stop, causing the dominated effect already conspired. Adif points to Ouigo … The report, collected by The worldHe points out that the French train stop accumulated up to five trains in seven kilometers of tracks. The manager explains that the catenary tension is designed to feed a train in motion but not to keep five trains active at the same point. In that case, there is a risk of over -overtime. When this happens, the train is disconnected from the catenary to avoid greater risks but causes a tension drop in the line. It is something like lowering the leads at home so that appliances do not shrink with a voltage rise. The whole system is controlled by the pantograph. This manages the electricity between the train and the catenary and is the one that is supposed to be in the Avant de Renfe that remained in the middle of nowhere. That is, Adif points to Ouigo as the seed that ended up creating chaos. … ouigo blames Adif … “This cannot be used as an alleged cause of the tension drop in the catenary. The infrastructure must normally contemplate this type of situations.” Ouigo said in the aforementioned statement to subsequently underpin the phrase with the previous metaphor. The company emphasizes that Alstom’s MEPs, the trains with those operating in Spain, are one of the “most reliable and insurance models in Europe” while emphasizing that they will collaborate in any request for information that is requested from ADIF to clarify what happened. … And the government puts the eye in ouigo. The mention of trains safety is not accidental. Last Wednesday (July 2), at a meeting between Addar and the PSOE, María Jesús Montero, Vice President of the Government and Minister of Finance, was hunted by an open microphone. There he could say that the maintenance of “the ouigos these” was not correct. “We from Renfe remove them, which do not remove the trains from the tracks,” Montero was heard to tell various representatives of adding, in words collected by the media, among which is 20 minutes. “Apparently there is a problem too, well, of those operators, and I plan to raise it. I do not know if there is a certain sabotage, I cannot understand it, I am a user of that bird, it is my usual means of transport,” Montero insisted. More investment with canons flying In addition to defending themselves, from Ouigo they have insisted to Adif on taking into account their demands of greater investment in the maintenance of the infrastructure. They point out that the situation lived last week is “unpublished and unacceptable”, in the words of Helene Valenzuela, CEO of the company in Spain, during the IV Mobility Forum organized by The economist. They ensure that the projected image directly affects high speed and believes that The ADIF Plan It is not enough because “you cannot identify all the weak points of the network.” That is why they demand a greater investment at the time that the canons that the manager wants to apply to the operators for the use of the infrastructure. Until now, Ouigo has pointed to the canons as the main reason why they are not profitable on their arrival in Spain. That absence of profitability has been denounced by the Government who even warned that would denounce Ouigo against Europe for unfair competition. Photo | Olivier PRT In Xataka | Ouigo has partially retired from Madrid-Barcelona. Then, prices have struck in Andalusia

How to claim the money from your Renfe, Ouigo or Iryo bills if there are delays and cancellations, and how much corresponds to you in each case

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We will explain what are the conditions for Ask for money returns on your trains late. In both Renfe and Ouigo or Iro, there are compensation policies for when trains have quite long delays, although the amounts to be returned depend on each company. In most cases the 100% of your ticket with delays greater than 90 minutesalthough we are going to specify the rules of each company. The money that is returned to you depends on how late your train reaches the destination. In addition to what we are going to tell you, you should know that the legislation points out that companies have to offer you a path of the path in the 100 minutes following the planned exit of the delayed train. If not, you can go on your own to another train, coach or bus supplier, and the company responsible for the delay has to reimburse the “necessary, adequate and reasonable derivative costs.” Claim your Renfe tickets Renfe has a punctual commitment for which he commits return 100% of the ticket with delays of more than 90 minutes. This standard applies to all its high -speed and long distance trains, including AVE, Avlo, Alvia, Euromed or Interity. And if the delay is 60 to 90 minutes, then 50%is returned. In the case of medium distance trains25% of the cost of the ticket is returned to exceed 15 minutes of delay, and 50% when it exceeds 30 minutes. In these trains you will return 100% of your ticket if the delay exceeds 60 minutes. You can request compensation after 24 hours From the arrival of the train, with a maximum of 3 months to request it. Claim your ouigo tickets Ouigo offers An alternative transport In the event that a cancellation is suffered, and gives you a 30 -day AMRGEN to change the ticket for free and without any cost. Come on, if you cancel a train you can buy the ticket for another of ouigo, and if you buy it is more expensive you will not have to pay the difference. It is also offered A reimbursement for cancellationthat you can be returned to the card you used to buy it or in the form of a voucher. As for the amounts, 100% is returned if the delay exceeds 90 minutesand 50% from 60 minutes. The best thing is that the ouigo itself will send you an email if there are delaysexplaining the steps to follow. You can also access the information in the section My reservations of its website within one month. Claim your Iro Bullets Iro will return you 100% of the bill with delays greater than 90 minutesand 50% from 60 minutes. The reimbursement request will be able to do it through its website, its mobile app or in the train stations themselves. In the event that the trip is not made, when the cancellation is done in the 48h prior to the start of the Iroo trip you have to provide you with ortho train or means of transport to your choice, under conditions equivalent to that of your money, or simply return the cost of the ticket. If the cancellation is in the previous 4 hours, you will also be entitled to compensation of twice the amount of the ticket. In Xataka Basics | How to use Trainline to get the best and most train tickets in Spain

Ouigo has partially retired from Madrid-Barcelona. Then, prices have struck in Andalusia

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Since The competition will enter the Spanish railwayswho are dedicated to following the current news of Spanish trains we expect the quarterly report that the CNMC performs on high speed in Spain as children who expect the arrival of the Magi. On this occasion, the doubts were in how Ouigo had resolved his entrance to the Andalusian runner. The company has prioritized its landing in southern Spain over its line between Madrid and Barcelona. And the data has spoken. Less presence, lower prices and a new fight in Andalusia He CNMC Report It is interesting because it explains the movements that Ouigo is doing to maintain very high occupancy quotas at the same time as lowers prices where it enters as a new agent. At the beginning of the year, Ouigo opened its new lines in Andalusia. The company launched a service to Seville and Malaga, leaving in Madrid and always with an intermediate stop in Córdoba. He did, as explained in electionomista.es with double compartment trains that were previously intended for Barcelona-Madrid. The report reflects this fall in the places offered and places them by 17.3% less in the case of Ouigo. Those places, as we say, have been destined for new runners and has had a direct impact on prices. The Madrid-Barcelona corridor is highly competitive and Ouigo barely managed to overcome Avlo in market share. Its 15.2% is far from 24.2% of Iro and 47.1% of the bird. Adding Ave and Avlo, Renfe Travelers get six out of 10 travelers between Madrid and Barcelona to rise to their trains. With change, Ouigo reduces its presence In an extremely competitive line that is less sensitive to price sales because prices remain much higher than that of the rest of the runners and the differences between competitors are more meager. In fact, the bird ticket in a Madrid-Barcelona is the highest price of all high speed (61.92 euros) and, despite this, it is the one that sells the most tickets. Knowing that his battle is in markets with the lowest number of travelers and more price sensitivity, Ouigo has entered the first quarter of the year in Andalusia. Thus, the average price of high speed in Madrid -Málaga has fallen to 36.83 euros, -17.2% less than last year. Ouigo is the cheapest company offers its tickets, at 26.89 euros on average. And the same has happened in Madrid-Sevilla. The prices, again, have fallen by 17.9%, to 39.30 euros on average. Ouigo sells its tickets at 29.09 euros on average. In these runners, prices They are much more important. On average in a Madrid-Barcelona, ​​the price of an ouigo ticket is 36.56 euros, far from the almost 62 euros mentioned in the bird although very close to Avlo and Iroyo, which gives a sample of the maturity of the market and that in this case prices have stabilized, falling half a 0.9%. However, in Andalusia Renfe feels more pressured and thus his bird tickets to Seville and Malaga are much closer to those of Ouigo, which marks the ground, although it has entered with competitive prices to win market. In this case, the difference is between 14 and 15 euros on average, far from the more than 25 euros that exist in the Madrid-Barcelona corridor. Photo | Eric Salard In Xataka | Valladolid, Segovia and the reality of high speed low cost: ouigo leaves the line during the week for its low demand

Spain opened its lines to Ouigo. France is now doing everything possible to avoid the entry of Renfe

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It seemed inconceivable but we had been living with it for almost four years. Yes, Renfe trains circulate on the Spanish railways. The Order arrived from Europe and Spain complied with a guideline that has opened the door to Ouigo and Iro. A door that, for Renfe, seems to be stuck in France. What happened for Renfe to be studying his departure from the neighboring country? A liberalization. It arrived in 2021. First Renfe had to face the competition with Ouigo. Shortly after it was Iro. And when we wanted to realize, in the Spanish roads these three companies are competing in high speed by some clients that, if we add Avlo, have four options on top of the table. Liberalization came ordered from the European Union. From Brussels it was voted in favor of opening the railroads and that any company could operate on the roads of the entire continent. A liberalization that has its peculiarities because the demands in terms of security and approval to meet the protocols follow in the hands of the authorities of each country. You don’t pass here. The latter is especially important and we have seen it in Spain. For example, When Ouigo wanted to get to Andalusia has had to adapt its trains to the protocols of the LZB systemsince they do not resemble those of the rest of the continent. When the Madrid-Seville line was created for the 1992 Expo, it was decided to use said system that would later fall into disuse and failed to impose itself on Erts that we see in the rest of Europe. These types of regulations, in addition to the payment of a fee for the maintenance of the roads and other services to ADIF are those that have put on a war footing to Ouigo and the Government. The first when pointing out that Adif charges excessive rates for the service they offer. The second because they ensure that Ouigo throws prices Below the market. What do we have? High speed with four operators and the lowest prices than ever. Where The competition has been greaterprices have dropped. They have not dropped where the demand is very high (such as the Madrid-Barcelona corridor) but in lines where you have to fight more to catch customers as in the Andalusian runners or in Madrid-Aliante where the supply was not extended until 2023. In your latest reportthe CNMC pointed out that the volume of passengers has not stopped increasing. Where new options have been opened have generated a greater number of journeys and a price drop until reaching more than 10 million passengers in the third quarter of 2024. A conflict. In this context Renfe has proposed to open new lines in France. Taking advantage of liberalization, the Spanish company has wanted make Ouigo competition In his own home. The movement began with controversy, with Renfe selling Nine euros tickets. In Spain, Ouigo defended himself saying that they were in a launch phase and that they expect be profitable this year. The promise is about to be fulfilled while SNCF, owner of Ouigo, has already put its conditions to enter to compete in the market of Cercanías y Medio Distancethe other great liberalization that we have ahead. The fight for the really interesting. Ouigo in Spain is competing in the big runners for lament of Óscar PuenteMinister of Transport, which indicated that these companies can focus on profitability While Renfe also has to Fulfill your public service position. Ouigo does compete in Madrid-Barcelona, ​​Madrid-Sevilla or Madrid-Aliante, for example. And in those same conditions he wants to play Renfe in France. At the moment, the company operates in the Lyon-Barcelona and Lyon-Marsella runners but the great yearning is still to reach Paris. The capital is especially juicy because most of the great French lines leave from there and could join Madrid and Paris in a single corridor. And here is the great conflict. You don’t pass here (2). Renfe a The avant -garde that France is doing everything possible to torpedo the expansion of the company on its way to Paris. The first intention was to reach Paris before the Olympic Games last summer but it was not possible. And the technical approval still does not get what he is doing to the company to rethink if they must move on. They explain that the problem is in the technical approval of trains. The approval of them usually takes about six months of work but at this time they are already going for three years. Coincidentally, the approval to operate in the Barcelona-Tooulouse corridor as of April 2025 is ready. Renfe is, for the moment, notice in the southern and southeast zone of France. And according to the company, the project does not paint well. To the point of Paloma Baena, general director of Renfe Operadora Global Strategy, demanded in the French Senate A few weeks ago equal conditions in the deal and pointed out that they did not expect to function normally until 2029 if everything followed. The excuse. What they say from France is that the trains that Renfe has presented to operate in the lines that have Paris as origin or destination are incompatible with the technology of their tracks. First tried with trains 100F series of ALSTOM which are those operating in the south of the country. After rejection, he has tried with the Talgo 106 Series with which Renfe operates in Spain. And, in addition, François Durovray, already former Minister of Transportation in France, also pointed out that he wanted to force companies to enter the country Operate in deficit lines. Exactly the type of runners where Ouigo does not operate in Spain and what Oscar Puente Moles ago lamented. Photo | Xataka In Xataka | Renfe trusted Talgo’s trains to overcome Ouigo and Iro. With your arrival, breakdowns, delays and controversies accumulate

Renfe and Ouigo prepare their artillery against the Railway Liberalization of Cercanías

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The first battle has already occurred but there is a lot (a lot) for the war to end. Because after the liberalization of the high Spanish speed, the opening of the market arrives in vicinity and medium distance. A space that is still Monopoly of Renfe but which should be able to arrive new actors in the coming years. Among those actors is, of course, ouigo. Liberalization. In 2021, the Spanish roads lived a historical moment: Ouigo began to operate in our country. For the first time, Renfe had competition and came from the hand of a French origin company. Later it would arrive Iro From Italy. They are currently the three companies that offer high -speed services in the Spanish roads. Liberalization was forced with the guidelines of the Fourth Rail Package of the European Union with the idea that competition will help offer more efficient and cheap services for the user. High speed liberalized, Spain has to take the next step: near and medium distance. A delicate theme. High speed liberalization has already meant a clash between the government, Renfe and Ouigo. But opening the doors to near and medium distance is an even more thorny issue because we talk about rail services that have public service obligations. They explain in Five days that in 2023 these services transferred 492 million passengers and that most of them have revenues below the average. Entering this market is a real risk for companies since they must deal with accessible prices and, at the same time, costs that allow them to earn money. A first advance. Following the railway services provided with public service obligations, government and ouigo have already collided for this reason. From the Executive They lamented in April 2024 that the new operators had the advantage of deciding where they wanted to be, while Renfe did look at the obligation to reach many more cities. According to Óscar Puente, Minister of Transportation, this prevents Renfe from competing in the same conditions as its rivals that can afford some flexibility when playing with prices. A flexibility that from the government consider excessive in the case of Ouigo to those who have directly accused throw prices below cost sustained by the French state. Yes, but. What we expect with the liberalization of near and medium distance is a new battle between Renfe and operators that are about to be revealed. We already know that one of them is an ouigo but the rest (at least three) remains in anonymity. They explain in 20 minutes that now the battle to define what aspects are key to getting the future tender has begun. In Ouigo they already press to make it clear that they will only be presented to the contest if they can have access to the rolling material and the staff, which would be subrogated. In this way, the risk to run would be much less. From Renfe they have another proposal: commission the work to the operator “that is in a better disposition to provide the service”, in words collected by the Digital newspaper. The company fears that competitors choose to offer too low prices and then cannot fulfill their obligations Yes, but (part 2). In addition to the above conditions, Ouigo would have put another condition: compensation of one million euros if, finally, the tender would not be taken after being presented to the contest. They defend that the cost of preparing for this tender already involves a cost of three million euros, so they require being able to recover part of the investment if it goes wrong. In The Spanish They pick up that the company also wants the first tenders to open the door to simple and little complex services. That is, start with lots that do not present cross -border circulations, for example. When? At the moment, what we have left is to wait because the liberalization of near and medium distance can still take several years. At the moment, The Renfe contract is active until 2027 and contemplates an extension of another five years. However, the services that barely suppose 3% of the contract, can be liberalized as of January 2026. Therefore, we would be talking that the bulk of the amounts and medium distance services operated by a player other than Renfe would not reach up to 2028 or, even, 2033 if the contract that he has right now is reached. The CNMC, yes, has already opened a Public Consultation Phase so that interested operators register their claims. Photo | Renfe In Xataka | While Europe launches into the arms of the competition, the United Kingdom nationalizes its trains. The reason: they were a disaster

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