Ouigo

Ouigo already has permission to stand up to Renfe between Murcia and Alicante. And that only means one thing

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There will be two trains between Alicante and Murcia, stopping in Elche, and another additional train for this last link from Elche and Murcia. It is the approval that the CNMC has given to the Ouigo service that will rival Renfe in the east of the country. A service that will be provided on the high-speed line and that, if everything happens as before, will have an immediate effect on prices. The line. The line between Alicante and Murcia is currently operated by Renfe with two services, one high-speed and another Cercanías. Now it will be Ouigo that also provides service on that last line, the one that Renfe operates with Avant trains, those high-speed ones for medium distances. has confirmed it the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) in a statement in which it gives the go-ahead for Ouigo to offer two daily trains in each direction to cover Alicante-Murcia, with an intermediate stop in Elche. In addition, there will be an additional train in both directions each day to cover the Elche-Murcia route. Does not affect. According to the CNMC, the new service proposed by Ouigo does not affect public services. They point out that the conventional network is guaranteed by Renfe, with a service with many more stops and slower. High speed, they say, is also assured because, they point out, Ouigo services “have much fewer frequencies and are more expensive.” Right now, if we take a look at the price of trains Within a few months, we can find Avant or AVLO high-speed trains between Alicante and Murcia between 10 and 15 euros. The AVE trip costs about 25 euros. The current offer is also supported by 10 Avant or AVLO services and two more AVE services in each direction from Monday to Friday. Ouigo’s proposal. Until now, Renfe has been offering this service with an average duration of about 55 minutes. The Ouigo proposal, which is already active, allows you to take the same route for nine euros but saving travelers 10 minutes, covering the section between Alicante and Murcia in 45 minutes. With the very low prices that Renfe currently offers on the line, Ouigo does not have much room for maneuver but hopes to attract passengers who travel without large suitcases (these options can raise the price up to 26 euros, equivalent to the price of the AVE). What is clear is that it is tough competition for the 15 euro Avant services which are only more attractive if you cannot travel at another time. The proposal between Murcia and Alicante It’s clear. The train leaves this first city at 06:35 in the morning and offers a return to Murcia at 21:27. From Alicante to Murcia, the train leaves in the morning at 10:57 and offers a service to Alicante at 19:53. That is, the day will be more useful for those who travel from Murcia to Alicante and return on the same day, since there is only one train available between both cities. With transport doubts. The approval from the CNMC comes after Transport has tried to stop the process or, at least, delay it as much as possible. And the Ministry asked the organization for an economic report on the impact on Renfe’s public services. That is why the CNMC highlights in its statement that they do not observe an impact on it. What is certain is that Renfe now faces new complications in a corridor that is on the rise. They point out in The Economist that the corridor between Madrid and Alicante registered its historical passenger record in the last quarter analyzed, adding 1.29 million travelers between July and September. Now, travel between Madrid and Murcia, after passing through Alicante, has more offers than ever. a trend. Although in this case the room for maneuver is much less, it is expected that the average prices between both cities will decrease slightly. With Ouigo offering trips for nine euros between Murcia and Alicante and, above all, saving 10 minutes of travel in a stretch of less than an hour, there are not many reasons to go for more expensive options. It is a maxim that has followed Ouigo in all the corridors where he has put up a fight against Renfe. For very little, where they compete Ouigo always has the cheapest ticket price and has managed to reduce them drastically in the first months of competition. Although with time It is something that is softening and tending towards stabilitythe first step is always to lower prices. Photo | Eric Salard and Joana Hall In Xataka | Renfe is selling its AVLO for 7 euros in Andalusia: it is the new battlefield in the price war against Ouigo and Iryo

Since Iryo and Ouigo compete with Renfe, we have had ultra-cheap high-speed tickets. Everything has an end

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There is a problem in the supply of high-speed trains in Spain. We believed that with the arrival of competition to Renfe we ​​would see ticket prices reduced. This has been the case during the last four years and in different regions, but now the three operators have begun to raise their rates in most corridors during the third quarter of 2025, according to the latest report of the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC). The change of trend. In the Madrid-Barcelona corridor, the busiest in the country, prices rose by an average of 25% compared to the same period in 2024. Iryo led the increases with an increase of 52.9%, placing the average ticket at 63.82 euros. Renfe AVE raised its fares by 13.3% to 70.58 euros, while Ouigo, traditionally the cheapest option, increased its prices by 20.2% to reach 51.86 euros on average. The context that explains the rise. The withdrawal of Avlo, Renfe’s ‘low cost’ brand, from the Madrid-Barcelona corridor in September after cracks were detected in the bogies of its Avril trains, has reduced the supply of tickets economical on the most popular route. This has caused the remaining operators to adjust their rates upwards. Despite the increase in prices, tickets are still 26% cheaper than before the liberalization of the sector in 2020, as indicated by the CNMC. The exception: Andalusia. In this Autonomous Community, the evolution is different. The entry of Ouigo in January 2025 on the Madrid-Seville and Madrid-Málaga/Granada routes caused a price war which has kept rates down. On the Madrid-Málaga route, only Iryo raised prices (+2.6%), while Renfe AVE lowered them by 8.9% and Avlo by 15.3% to compete with the 32.54 euros on average offered by the French operator. In Madrid-Seville, the average price fell by 2.8% despite the fact that individual operators such as Iryo (+12.5%) and Renfe AVE (+0.9%) did make their tickets more expensive. The Levantine corridor. Regarding routes to the Valencian Community, these show moderate increases. In Madrid-Valencia, prices rose by 1.3% to 30.56 euros on average, the cheapest ticket on the entire network. In Madrid-Alicante, the increase was 1.5% to 37.96 euros. Iryo was the one that increased its fares the most on both routes (with increases of 24.6% and 23.9% respectively), while Ouigo maintained its low price strategy with slight reductions. The thing is about profitability. The Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, has been publicly demanding this price increase in recent months, going so far as to accuse Ouigo of operating at losses and dragging Renfe into an unsustainable dynamic. And while the rest of the operators have been gaining ground, we are now at a point where they are looking for the economic viability of their operations, and that is where the price increases come in. The balance of passengers. Despite price increases, demand remains robust. High speed will reach almost 40 million travelers in 2024, 77% more than in 2019, before liberalization. In the third quarter of 2025, routes such as Madrid-Málaga/Granada (+17.7%), Madrid-Seville (+13.2%) and Madrid-Alicante (+8.9%) reached record passenger numbers. Only Madrid-Barcelona registered a slight decrease of 0.3%, possibly weighed down by the withdrawal of Avlo and the increase in fares. The future of the sector. After four years of aggressive offers by the rest of the high-speed operators, the sector seems to be entering a phase of maturity in which it seeks to attract travelers without losing sight of the sustainability of the business. Renfe maintains a market share of 62% in most corridors, although in Madrid-Valencia it is already at 50%. It will be very interesting to know the figures in the coming quarters to know how the panorama evolves. Cover image | Jose Garcia Nieto In Xataka | High speed in Madrid is at risk of collapsing. And that’s why Adif wants to send her to Parla

It is the new battlefield in the price war against Ouigo and Iryo

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Just a few days ago, Trainline confirmed what we began to suspect for a long time: trains are rising in price. According to their data, Renfe, Ouigo and Iryo have increased their rates up to 40% in some cases and are forgetting their price war. Or they seemed to be forgetting. Because Renfe has pressed the accelerator in Andalusia. The offer. From Madrid to Seville or Malaga for seven euros. It is Renfe’s temporary offer which will be active between November 14 and 18. Every day a limited number of places will leave with ridiculous prices to move through the Andalusian corridor, with stops available in Ciudad Real, Puertollano, Villanueva de Córdoba, Córdoba, Puente Genil or Antequera, in addition to the cities already mentioned. The trains, of course, are part of the AVLO offer, the service low cost of Renfe that fights with Ouigo and Iryo to attract passengers at lower prices. The difference with the AVE lies, above all, in a greater number of stops and therefore a travel time that is usually longer. Price war? In recent months we have seen how high speed prices have risen. And they have risen a lot, in some cases. The most recent data is brought and collected by Trainline, the train ticket price comparator Expansion. Trains have become more expensive by up to 40% in one year on the Madrid-Barcelona corridor. The data reflect something that Álvaro Fernández Heredia, president of Renfe, already warned. “If they raise the price, we will follow them”announced a few weeks ago in an interview with Chain Being in which he also attacked his rivals, warning that they would have to explain why they come to Spain to lose money. The data of the CNMCwhich always arrive with some delay (the latest refer to the first half of the year) also point to an increase in the price of tickets but it is Madrid-Barcelona that has concentrated this growth. In the Andalusian and Valencian corridor, prices have fallen year-on-year. The Andalusian runner. The departure of the AVLO on the Madrid-Barcelona route, which does not have a confirmed return date, confirms that this route is the most expensive in Spain because its travelers are less susceptible to price variations. In fact, it is the corridor with the highest average price for all operators and in their sum, with a cost of 63.14 euros on average for the traveler and an increase of more than 15% compared to the first half of last year. In Andalusia, however, things are very different. Madrid-Málaga has maintained its year-on-year prices despite the fact that high speed has increased in general terms (-1.2% compared to the first half of 2024). And Madrid-Sevilla has dropped by more than 8%. In the absence of new data from the CNMC, we do know that Renfe increased the prices of its AVLO compared to the previous year by 3.4% but reduced those of the AVE by 3.8%. Taking into account that the average ticket price of the latter is 55.92 euros compared to 42.44 euros for the AVLO, the reduction is more noticeable than the increase in its range low cost. Ouigo in Andalusia. It must be taken into account that Ouigo arrived in Andalusia at the beginning of 2025, which is why last year two companies (Renfe and Iryo) were competing. The French company saw clearly that it had a gap to gain in the Andalusian corridor and that it was more sensitive to price variations than Madrid-Barcelona, ​​which is why It partially removed its trains from the latter and focused them on the southern corridor. Consequently, prices fell and in the absence of the CNMC making public the report that includes the data for July, August and September, already in June we saw a substantial reduction in the price of tickets compared to 2024, with falls of more than 28% in Iryo, greater than 22% in the AVE and 26% in AVLO. On average, prices that month fell 25.4%. In recent months, the battle in the southern corridor has continued. To the Renfe offer we must add the one that promoted Ouigo just a few weeks agoconnecting Barcelona with Seville for just over 20 euros. A way to continue competing in Madrid-Barcelona while maximizing resources. direct marking. The launch of new offers shows how Ouigo and Renfe mark each other closely. The Andalusian corridor in the first half of the year has been the place where Ouigo has put the most effort and where it has differentiated its prices the most from its competitors. In Madrid-Barcelona, ​​the difference in the average price between Ouigo and Renfe remained below two euros. In Madrid-Valencia and Madrid-Alicante it was even less, just a few cents. In the Andalusian corridor, however, Ouigo tickets were sold almost five euros cheaper than AVLO tickets in Madrid-Seville and the same situation was repeated in Madrid-Málaga. Photo | Smiley.toerist on Wikimedia In Xataka | If the summer has taught us anything, it is that Spain does not need more trains. You just need them to work.

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

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