Renfe

Renfe makes its position in the workshop war clear to Iryo and the CNMC

by

The Iryo-Renfe soap opera continues. Every day that passes we have a new chapter, a new exchange of statements, new figures on the table. And with each passing day, Iryo continues to find the door to the workshops closed. Although the CNMC obliges them, Renfe is clear: “they have no obligation.” The (pen)last chapter. It is the one that brings us the response from Renfe. And it is that, to questions from Xatakathe company tells us that the obligation imposed by the CNMC to open its workshops to Iryo has a “disproportionate impact” and there is a “technical impossibility.” The company assures that “adapting the workshops to the regime that the CNMC wants to impose” would take them a year. For now, the company has kept the Italian company’s workshops closed. And although Renfe clearly feels harmed, the company assures us that “we are studying how to do it (open the workshops) to carry out the CNMC’s decision, as it could not be otherwise.” Heavy or light. That’s the question. And since the liberalization of Spanish roads began, Renfe already knew that it would have to leave its workshops to Ouigo and Iryo to carry out light maintenance work. That is, routine checks of little significance. The problem is that these “light maintenance” operations are not clearly specified even in the Directive 2012/34/EU nor in the standard EN 15380-4:2021. This friction is what has led Renfe to deny passage to Iryo since it considers that in the proposed operations part of the train must be dismantled and that falls into the category of heavy maintenance. It must be remembered that Renfe already encountered this problem a few months ago. The Spanish company reported that Ouigo was carrying out heavy maintenance work at its facilities and that it had not previously reported this. Something that was proven, according to the company itself, by documents provided by the French company. The CNMC, on that occasion, also sided with Ouigo, forcing Renfe to lend its facilities for unforeseen interventions. Is it that big of a deal? Well, obviously, the versions differ here. No, it’s not that big a deal: Iryo is clear that the operations to be carried out in the Renfe workshops would not involve many problems. They assure that they would only occupy 7% of the infrastructure and that, since maintenance is scheduled weeks in advance, it is all a matter of organization. Yes, of course it is a big deal: Renfe, on the contrary, assures that these maintenance tasks seriously affect its schedule. They say that space is already operating at almost full capacity, that the impact of Iryo would be 10% of the infrastructure and that it would force them to withdraw 1.2 million seats from the offer because there would be no room to maintain their own trains. More than one million of these seats correspond to the lines in which it is handled as a Public Service Obligation (OSP) and this would result in a drop of 60 million euros in income. The CNMC is clear. The problem for Renfe is that the CNMC is clear about it and is on Iryo’s side. The regulator has already received a complaint that Renfe did not allow the Italian company to enter its workshops and issued a resolution forcing Renfe. This resolution was appealed before the National Court, which has decided to force Renfe to make way for Iryo in their workshops as a precautionary measure but with the notice that it will study the case in particular. The sticking point is that Iryo would need to send its trains to Rome for scheduled maintenance. That would force them, they say, to stop providing service with the trains involved for two months, a compelling reason for the CNMC despite the fact that In France Iryo was forced to take its trains to Italy despite the cessation of activity and despite the fact that the company announced that I would set up some workshops in Spain for these cases but nothing is known about them. Those are the cards that, for the moment, are on the table. Photo | Sergioorozco96 and Renfe In Xataka | There is a fight between the railway operators to get the best drivers and Renfe is winning it

In the “war of the workshops”, Iryo defends himself. And he has already made it clear to Renfe why he will use its facilities

by

The battle for the use of Renfe workshops continues to give us new chapters. From the closed door and the complaint to the CNMC we have moved on to appeals to the latter’s decision and a crossroads of statements in which numbers are beginning to be put on the table. The last to speak was Iryo. What is happening? Iryo and Renfe have an open battle over the use of the latter company’s workshops. To understand all the keys: What does Renfe say? What Renfe says is that the regulations only require them to hand over part of their facilities to their rivals to carry out light maintenance, but that is not the case when the work involves heavy maintenance. Iryo’s actions fall under this last definition and Renfe already reported in October that Ouigo was performing heavy maintenance on their facilities without their permission. In addition, they point out that giving space to these trains from the Italian company will have a direct impact on their offer. If Iryo is occupying a space that Renfe had planned to use, the Spanish company estimates that they will have to withdraw from their offer around 1.2 million seatsof which more than one million fall within its Public Service Obligation (OSP). They estimate 60 million losses in income. What does the CNMC say? The CNMC considers that Renfe would obtain a substantial competitive advantage if Iryo has to send its trains to Italy to carry out heavy maintenance. They consider that, if this happens, it would stop providing service with the affected trains for weeks. (as has happened in France) and that maintaining them without performing said maintenance is a danger to the safety of passengers. For this reason, it forces Renfe to open its facilities and allow the Italian company to carry out these jobs with the employees it considers. In exchange, the Spanish company receives compensation as if it were a rental of the facilities. What does Iryo say? Until now we have known the version and calculations of Renfe but not of Iryo. The Italian company assures that moving its trains to its country would mean a extra cost of 17 million euros and defends that they would only be occupying 7% of all Renfe facilities. To estimate this extra cost, they calculate that if Iryo has to take the trains to Rome, they would stop being operational for about two months each, although, they point out in The Economistwhich on other occasions the company reduced this time horizon to one month. This operational stoppage, Iryo points out, would be key in the market because they compete with 19 trains available in our country, while Renfe has 270 high-speed trains at its disposal. And they culminate their complaints by pointing out that these actions are scheduled based on mileage and that Renfe was aware that they would have to carry out these operations for months. A music that sounds familiar to us. The truth is that railway liberalization in Europe has created a constant fight between operators that, as we are seeing, sometimes goes far beyond the tracks. Renfe has pressed everything it can to prevent Iryo from carrying out these maintenance tasks at its facilities but has also recalled that the company has to work on all high speed lines and not only in the most profitable since, unlike Ouigo and Iryo, they work as a public service operator. Furthermore, remember that upon arrival Iryo committed to building his own workshops but no steps have been taken in that direction. At the same time, it is logical that Iryo tries by all means to carry out its maintenance work in Spain to minimize its impact on the offer. And, as we said before, in France they have already forced the company to take your trains back to Italy to perform this type of maintenance. Country where Renfe has also encountered countless obstacles to deploy your servicesespecially in everything related to his arrival in Pariswhere the most profitable lines start. Photo |Smiley.toerist and Renfe In Xataka | If the question is when Ouigo was going to be profitable, the answer is: now. And that makes Renfe suspicious

Renfe already calculates how much it will cost to leave its workshops to Iryo

by

Renfe will have to give up part of its workshops so that Iryo can carry out its heavy maintenance. It is the decision that the CNMC has imposed on the Spanish company and that it will have to comply with until, at the earliest, the National Court rules. But it will have its consequences. What has happened? When Ouigo and Iryo entered to compete in our country, Renfe already knew that it would have to give up part of its workshops so that both companies could carry out maintenance work. In exchange, both the French and Italian companies have to pay the company to be able to operate in their facilities. These maintenance tasks were “level 1”, the name used to define “light maintenance” operations. However, Renfe reported a few months ago that Ouigo was performing heavy maintenance workwhich is outside the agreement. And a few months ago it closed the door on Iryo, because the company planned to do the same. However, the CNMC has forced Renfe to open its doors to the Italian company. According to Competition, failure to do so puts Iryo’s business strategy at risk, which would give Renfe an unfair advantage. The company has filed an appeal against this decision but the National Court has concluded that it will study the case but that, as a precautionary measure, Renfe must open the door to its facilities. What does each one defend? From the Spanish company they assure that Iryo had a project to build its own workshops in our country and thus not having to take their trains to Italy. However, these workshops have not seen the light and Renfe believes that they should not pay the consequences of one of their rivals not complying with its roadmap. For its part, the CNMC assures that forcing Iryo to undergo maintenance in Italy would leave them with less rolling stock available for weeks and, therefore, at a disadvantage in the market. And keeping that rolling stock in operation is a bad decision because the deadlines are met and it would lead the company to have vehicles on Spanish roads that could be unsafe. Iryo’s parent company, Trenitalia, has already experienced this same thing. in France when they had to suspend their services for a month because SNCF prevented access to its workshops to carry out maintenance work. Consequences. Knowing the situation, Renfe has put on the table the consequences that opening its facilities to Iryo may have to carry out heavy maintenance work. And, without that space for their own work, the entry of the Italian company into their space forces them to reduce the number of jobs they can carry out on their own material. That is to say: they would have to reduce the number of trains that are currently in operation. According to the company, in words collected by elDiario.es“the immediate consequence would be fewer trains available each day and, therefore, the suppression of public services in the usual schedule. The lower capacity for heavy maintenance would also have a chain effect and could lead to a progressive paralysis of the fleet in a few weeks.” And in numbers? In total, the company believes that it would affect around thirty daily circulations distributed in different corridors depending on the trains used, which would be the affected by giving space to Ouigo and Iryo in the workshops. They assure that the Madrid-Barcelona (Serie 103), the most profitable corridor today, would have two fewer daily circulations per direction. In total, they would have to reduce 10% of the seats offered and they estimate the impact at 650,000 kilometers per year that would no longer be traveled, some 1,100 circulations eliminated and 450,000 fewer seats on offer. As for the Galician corridor, the trains to Huelva and the Basque Country (Series 120 and 121), together they would add a reduction of 1.5 million fewer kilometers per year, more than 3,300 circulations eliminated and some 800,000 fewer seats available. In total, each day it is estimated that there would be 16 trains inoperative on these lines. And in the Avant of Valladolid they calculate a suppression of six daily trains or the reduction of the double trains that are currently operational during rush hour. In total, Renfe estimates that there are 1.2 million of its own seats at stake. Of them, more than a million are part of what is known as Public Service Obligation (OSP) and they believe that it can impact with a decrease in income of up to 60 million euros. Aggrieved? The feeling of grievance is not new within the company and the Ministry of Transportation. In April 2024 they already made it clear that they considered that the rules were not fair because while Ouigo and Iryo only have to serve where they consider it beneficial to their interests, Renfe is obliged in going to brokers where economic viability is not guaranteed. Added to this is that the company feels doubly harmed. And Renfe has been trying to expand its business in France for some time but Many obstacles have been found in the neighboring country to reach Paris, the most economically juicy link in the neighboring country. And from the Ministry of Transportation they have repeated on several occasions that Ouigo is a company supported by the French State and that it would not be able to operate if it had to face its debts on its own. Diffuse. The problem, explained in Chain Being is that the Directive 2012/34/EU (RECAST) on the single railway space and the standard EN 15380-4:2021 They do not clearly specify what is considered light or heavy maintenance. In the first it is pointed out that heavy maintenance is all those tasks that are not routine and in the second it is defined as the works in which the train has to be dismantled. However, these definitions do not seem to be sufficient for competitors as they have different perspectives of what is and is … Read more

Renfe has found a new way to make life impossible for Ouigo and Iryo. And it has nothing to do with lowering prices.

by

Renfe maintains a hidden war with Ouigo and Iryo. Beyond the headlines and the exchanges of more or less high-sounding statements, the Spanish company and its rivals fight on all types of grounds. Also outside the train tracks and the most obvious sources of business. And here, the use of workshops has a lot to say. What has happened? Renfe has prevented Iryo from using its workshops so that the company can carry out heavy maintenance on its trains. The information is brought The Economist and it states that the Spanish company has rejected Italians’ access to its facilities because they consider that the activity to be carried out there exceeds the obligations they have towards their rivals. In Xataka We have contacted both companies but as of this writing we have not received answers to our questions. The obligations. Although the facilities belong to Renfe, the Spanish company has the obligation to allow access to its workshops at specific points in Spain so that Ouigo and Iryo can carry out their maintenance operations. However, this obligation is limited to light maintenance, known in the sector as “level 1” maintenance. This scale of what falls within “light” or “level 1” maintenance and what are “heavy” or “level 2” maintenance interventions are those that have been questioned by Renfe. The company is clear, Iryo wants to carry out operations of this second category and they are not obliged to give access to their workshops for this type of tasks. The CNMC. Given the denial of access to the workshops, Iryo went to the CNMC to mediate the matter. The National Markets and Competition Commission ruled in March that Renfe had to give Iryo access to its facilities where Hitachi employees would carry out maintenance services on Iryo trains. Although Renfe, Iryo and Hitachi seemed to have reached an agreement for the latter company (manufacturer of Iryo trains) to carry out maintenance at Renfe facilities, the Spanish company indicated that this could not be carried out because heavy maintenance activity related to Renfe trains had skyrocketed and there was no space left for such actions. Given this situation, Iryo requested provisional measures from the CNMC to access “an operational pit at BMI La Sagra or, subsidiarily, at BM Santa Catalina, on a self-provision basis, for the execution of heavy maintenance (R2) of the ETR 1000.” An access that the CNMC decided to give. The reasons. The CNMC pointed out in its resolution that denying Iryo access to the workshops directly damages the business plans that it has for our country since it would force the trains to be taken to Italy to undergo said heavy maintenance. For Renfe, this should not be a problem but the CNMC rejects this position of the Spanish company. Iryo trains approach the mileage limit before passing through workshops for a thorough inspection. When Iryo arrived in Spain, it stated that it would have its own workshops where it would carry out its maintenance. However, this has not occurred. However, the CNMC forces Renfe to provide access to its facilities to carry out these tasks, with the rates that were negotiated in the summer of 2025. Not compliant. In clear rejection of the CNMC’s decision, Renfe requests the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the National Court to stop this decision and asks the CNMC to quarantine the decision until the National Court confirms what measures should be taken. The National Court, however, does not find it serious enough to apply precautionary measures, although it does confirm that it is opening a file to study the matter in depth. With this decision, the CNMC remains firm and once again forces Renfe to make way for Iryo trains in its workshops so that Hitachi workers can carry out scheduled heavy maintenance. It’s not the first time. Although we have talked about Iryo so far, the truth is that Renfe is not the first time that it has denied entry to its workshops to one of its rivals or, at the very least, has put up all possible impediments. In October of last year, the situation was very similar although, on that occasion It was Renfe and Ouigo who led the conflict. The reason was the same, according to Renfe the activity that Ouigo wanted to carry out in his workshops exceeded his company’s obligations to lend its facilities to carry out light maintenance. The fight between the three companies is tough because if Iryo and Ouigo do not get access to the Renfe workshops, they have to send their trains to Italy and France, respectively, where they do have their own workshops. That, of course, temporarily takes some of its trains out of circulation, which undoubtedly benefits its competitors. Photo | Investing Spain and UGT In Xataka | Spain has thousands of kilometers of AVE: the question after the Adamuz accident is whether it is investing in maintaining them

Every year Renfe dedicates millions and millions of euros to something that has little to do with transportation: cleaning graffiti

by

In March 2023 Renfe did something very rare in the world of communication: he sent a press release full of graffiti to newsrooms across the country. Literally. The text was so smudged that you could barely read its content, beyond the headline, in which the operator lamented that “the graffiti vandalism” that occurs on trains generated a cost of 25 million of euros, in addition to affecting the flow of traffic with delays and cancellations of services. That marketing campaign served to arouse curiosity and raise awareness about the issue, but it does not seem to have solved the problem. In fact, the bill for graffiti removal just came a considerable jumpjoining others related to vandalism, such as wiring theft. What has happened? That despite all your attempts to tackle the problem, the campaigns awareness, the control of the authorities and the complaints launched by the workers, Renfe has not managed to free itself from a very special type of vandalism: that which is perpetrated with sprays and that attacks its wagons and locomotives. The operator already had warned in several occasions that graffiti on trains cost him 25 million euros annually, but the bill seems to have increased in recent years. at least like this has advanced it elEconomista.eswhich ensures that in 2025 spending will skyrocket to exceed 32.2 million euros. Has it increased that much? The economic newspaper assures that the railway operator has had to increase the efforts it dedicates to keeping its trains clean, going from around 25 million annually invested in recent years (the sum includes direct and indirect costs) to just over 32 million in 2025. The largest expense would be located in Catalonia, where recently The socialists presented a bill to increase fines for acts of vandalism that affect public transportation. According to The NewspaperIn 2023, cleaning trains in the region cost 11.6 million, about 32,000 euros per day. Is it something new? No. And that is precisely one of the keys to the problem. Three years ago, in his famous statement defaced, Renfe already denounced that “graffiti vandalism” on the trains was generating a cost of more than 25 million euros per year, a bill that, it warned, falls directly on citizens. It may seem like an exorbitant figure, but Renfe recalled that graffiti not only requires cleaning machinery, it also has less visible consequences that are equally (or even more) burdensome. “This figure includes, in addition to the cleaning itself, the indirect expenses derived from this scourge, such as investment in security, both for personnel and other technological systems,” scored Renfe in 2024. Graffiti also affects railway operations, so passengers suffer directly. Click on the image to go to the tweet. Does it affect that much? Yes. In her day the operator already warned that sometimes graffiti directly affects the service they provide, causing delays and leaving trains unusable. The reason? The company spoke of “lack of visibility or graffiti on safety elements that impede circulation”, in addition to “emergency braking to paint in the middle of a journey” or even the smell generated by aerosol paints. “It is very annoying to travelers.” The truth is that Renfe has not been the only one to report the problem. He has also done it by example the Government in Catalonia or the CGT union in Galicia, which in February regretted in X that the graffiti on a train was preventing Renfe from using it to resolve the saturation of the service between Vigo and A Coruña. How much is vandalized? Renfe calculates that if the entire area of ​​vandalized wagons and locomotives is added, in 2023 there will be around 80,000 m2. And not because that was a particularly bad year. It is an estimate very similar to that of 2022 and theEconomist points out that one year the 90,000 m2. To give a clearer idea of ​​what these levels of vandalism mean, in 2023 the operator I remembered that cleaning such a quantity of paint had required 15,000 hours of work and that the railway network had also been affected to the same extent. “The trains were stopped for 15,000 hours unscheduled due to graffiti removal,” insisted the company, which reminds that the damage could be even greater if surveillance were relaxed: in 2023 alone its security personnel thwarted almost 1,200 incursions by vandals to create graffiti. Is there no way to avoid it? If there is, in Spain we have not yet managed to find the key. And not for lack of efforts. In addition to toughen sanctions and carry out controls that not long ago allowed ‘hunting’ in Catalonia about a dozen of those involved in 115 graffiti on FGC, Renfe and Barcelona Metro machinery, Renfe has resorted to new forms of surveillance. Renfe already employs for example, drones to hunt down vandals who paint wagons or break into their facilities, which has led to a notable investment. Images | Renfe 1, 2 and Alvaro Galve (Flickr) Via | elEconomista.es In Xataka | Japan has a secret weapon to end vandalism in its streets that only affects teenagers: “The Mosquito”

Renfe wants you to use a folding bike when you ride the train. For this, it has announced a subscription service from 41 euros

by

Getting on a train with a scooter or one folding bike It is a situation that we see more and more in our country, especially in more crowded cities and in cases where the situation requires this convenient type of mobility. For this reason, Renfe wanted to take advantage launching a service in collaboration with the bicycle company Brompton, to promote the combo of using a bike and train on daily Cercanías journeys. The idea is to rent a folding bicycle for a monthly subscription and combine it with the train to cover the stretch between home, the station and the final destination, without the need for a car. The problem they want to solve. Using a bicycle to get to the train has the main drawback of needing secure parking for the bike, and of course many prefer to avoid what the stations offer due to the risk of theft. On the other hand, during rush hour, getting a conventional bike onto a crowded car is quite stressful, and anyone who has ever done it knows it perfectly well. A folding bicycle avoids this type of situation, and Renfe wants to take advantage of it. What is included and how much does it cost?. The subscription starts at 41 euros per month with a 12-month commitment, or 49 euros per month if you opt for six months. The package includes a Brompton C Line four-speed (intermediate handlebar), theft and damage insurance, a full annual service and home delivery within three to five working days. At the end of the period, the user can renew, return the bicycle or buy a new one at a discount. The brand also offers a bonus of 200 euros for the purchase of a new bike to those who decide to keep the model, according to they count from El Periódico. why now. Spain is the third market in which Brompton launches this subscription service, after Germany (where it premiered last year) and France, where it launched this same year. The landing in Spain makes sense: the Renfe Cercanías network is one of the densest in southern Europe and last kilometer routes without a practical solution are a widespread problem in large cities. The argument of sustainability. Renfe frame the initiative in its environmental strategy. The company claims to have reduced its emissions to 3.79 grams of CO₂ per transport unit in 2024, a figure that, according to the Spanish Climate Change Office, is up to 35 times lower than that of private cars. Replacing short car trips with bike plus train is, in this context, the natural complement to that narrative. For the end user it is a very convenient option, although in a context of fatigue due to the flood of subscriptions that many of us pay for, it can make a certain dent in the proposal. What remains to be seen. The proposal makes sense on paper, but there are some factors that must be resolved, including the number of bike racks at the stations, the reliability of the service and whether the price is attractive for those looking for an alternative and convenient type of mobility. Buying a Brompton usually means spending more than 1,000 euros, so we will have to see if the economic argument convinces enough travelers for this business model to be successful. Cover image | Renfe In Xataka | Renfe has launched a real-time map to know where your surroundings are in 2025. And it works quite well

Renfe, Iryo and Ouigo raised prices wildly in 2025. Now they are suffering the foreseeable consequences

by

Demand on trains has fallen. We could think that it is the direct consequence of railway chaos that has set in in the first months of 2026. But no. The last quarter of 2025 already anticipated turbulent times for high speed. And between October and December 2025, prices skyrocketed and demand fell. Now it is the operators who have to walk a tightrope. What has happened? That demand for high-speed trains has fallen significantly in recent months. According to data from Trainlinetrain ticket price comparator, the demand for these trips plummeted 30% after the accident in Adamuz (Córdoba) in the middle of last January. The data could indicate a distrust among travelers as a result, but not everything is explained by the possible fear that those who travel by train may have. And the volume of travelers at the end of 2025 had already fallen. It is something we know now with the publication of the latest report from the CNMCwho collects market movements with a quarter delay or so. Madrid-Barcelona. The consequences in this report are clear, the volume of travelers fell between October and December 2025 in the Madrid-Barcelona corridor, where prices have settled and there is a smaller difference between companies. According to the CNMC, the main data are the following: Decrease in travelers of 13% compared to October-December 2024. Fall of the companies with the most expensive prices: -19% Renfe (95.58 euros) and -13.9% Iryo (76.89 euros). Rise of Ouigo (+12.8%) which has the cheapest prices (61.42 euros). The recorded data shows a brutal increase in prices. Renfe has been left without AVLO to fight for the floor price, which has triggered its average ticket but Ouigo and Iryo also multiplied the price of the average bill. In fact, the following increases were recorded compared to the previous year: Renfe: +40.2% Iryo: +69.0% Ouigo: +40.9% (Much) more expensive, less travel. The increase in prices in Madrid-Barcelona explains several trends: This broker is the least sensitive to price variations. Although the volume of passengers has been reduced, the increase in price has been much greater, so it is to be assumed that there are many travelers who continued to use it as round-trip transportation during the day for similar situations. The operators have finally had to raise prices to stop making losses. This has meant a reduction in passengers on Renfe (which, as we said, You no longer have AVLO service) and Iryo. Ouigo has grown by 12.9% but its places offered have also grown by 16.1%. In the rest of the corridors, only the Valencian has had a substantial price increase (+22.3%) and it has not suffered. Madrid-Seville (-1.9%), Madrid-Málaga (-5%) or Madrid-Alicante (+6.6%) have remained at similar prices. None of these corridors have lost travelers. What can we expect? A drastic drop in the volume of travelers. That is what we expect from the next CNMC report in which the results for January, February and March 2026 will be noted. There are many reasons that explain the result we expect. To begin with, the railway chaos that Spanish roads have become since the fateful Adamuz accident: The most affected. We already know that demand for trains has to fall irremediably given the cuts and speed restrictions that were recorded in the following days, but we must bear in mind that passenger confidence has been eroded since the accident. And not only because of a lack of trust in security, the problem is delays and inconsistency in arrival times. According to ABC65% of the trains arrived late last February. But it is that The Madrid-Barcelona corridor has been the most affected since clients relied on their Swiss punctuality for business trips. That has been diluted in recent weeks, with speed restrictions that are now permanent and road works. This has triggered air travelers, skyrocketing the price the same to the point that Iberia capped the prices of the Air Bridge at 99 euros. It remains to be seen if the companies’ alternative has been to lower prices. We will know that when the next CNMC report arrives and we can have a complete picture of how the market behaved and how operators dealt with these inconveniences when they were already rubbing their hands to raise prices. Photo | Alan Grant In Xataka | 150 years ago, Spain made a unique decision in the world. Ouigo and Iryo believe that Renfe is using it against them

150 years ago, Spain made a unique decision in the world. Ouigo and Iryo believe that Renfe uses it to get them out of the market

by

They have no rolling stock. And the worst of all (for them) is that they are not going to have it. Ouigo, Iryo and a third rolling stock company have raised their voices before the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) to make it clear that the current system with two gauges of track reduces their competitiveness in our country compared to Renfe. And it doesn’t seem like it’s going to change in the short term. What has happened? The CNMC has published a document with the name “Report on technical barriers to the provision of railway services”. It sets out the challenges and interventions that Spain should carry out in the coming years. It specifies that the Spanish railway system has the obligation to improve interoperability with its neighboring countries, both to facilitate the flow of passengers and goods. But there is a drawback: the track widths. And this inconvenience has a very relevant economic impact. They complain. In the document the different postures are collected of those involved. And it states that “Ouigo, Iryo and a rolling stock manufacturer (which is not specified) warn that the uncertainty regarding the schedule and details of the Gauge Migration Plan, as well as the unification of the electrification system and the implementation of the ERTMS signaling system, makes decision-making on strategic investments difficult, and they ask that the Gauge Migration Plan be prepared and published as soon as possible.” In short: the two operators and the rolling stock manufacturer complain that Adif does not have a clear plan as to whether the Iberian high-speed track gauges are going to adapt to European standards, which move in standard gauge. The same happens with the unification of the electrification system and the definitive implementation of the ERTMS system. And they defend themselves. The position of Adif and Renfe is set out in the same document. Both companies “point out that incorporating gauge change technology in the rolling stock and infrastructure is less expensive and entails fewer interruptions in traffic than the migration of the infrastructure. On the other hand, both the AESF and the DG of the Railway Sector indicate that, in addition to Talgo, there is a second manufacturer of variable gauge rolling stock for high speed, CAF, although they admit that it is currently only approved to operate at 250 km/h.” In short: neither Renfe nor Adif They believe that adapting to the standard width is economically profitable given the high economic impact. The bottleneck. What Ouigo and Iryo defend is that the current situation and the commitment to trains with wide gauge technology leaves them behind. They have two reasons to maintain this. CAF can supply trains with this technology but they are only approved to travel at a maximum of 250 km/h. Talgo is the only company with this technology with approval to circulate up to 350 km/h. They are known as Talgo AVRIL but their production is committed to Renfe. And the results are not satisfactory either.. Beyond these two manufacturers, no one seems to want to get involved in the production of trains capable of changing tracks between standard and Iberian gauge. And the fact is that their production means meeting a demand that is still a niche or a rarity in the world railway system. Very juicy. The reluctance of Adif and Renfe is not strange either. For Adif it would mean a huge investment that has to be able to make profitable with the rest of the operators when the vast majority of current corridors in Spain already operate with standard gauge. For its part, Renfe does not want to let go of this trick either. Right now, the high speed to Galicia needs trains that are capable of moving between the Iberian gauge and the standard gauge if you do not want to transfer and the Spanish company is the only one that has the trains for this. The Galician corridor has also emerged as one of the most profitable. Travel has grown so much that it has made airlines retreat and now that they have to liberalize the line, maintaining the current situation guarantees that they will continue to be the only ones that will be able to offer this trip without transfers, which is a clear competitive advantage. Photo | Falk2 In Xataka | “Whoever wants to come, should invest”: Ouigo wanted to enter the Madrid-Galicia AVE but now sees it as impossible before 2030

Renfe is already maneuvering to get a new contract in France. And the 1,000 million euros at stake is the least of it

by

Arrive in Paris. Three words to summarize Renfe’s great objective in the neighboring country. After living with competition on our roads for more than five years, the Spanish company seeks to achieve one of its great challenges in its international expansion. A new route originating or ending in Paris is underway. But, so far, France has not made it easy. Target: Paris. Be that as it may. And Renfe is already preparing an offer to participate in the tender for the Paris-Dijon-Lyon line. That is what media outlets like Expansion either Forbeswho state that the Spanish company will participate in the tender to operate a route that, ten years from now, would be valued at around 1,000 million euros. The striking thing is that this line is not high speed. The link between Paris and Lyon that Renfe will serve uses regional trains, contrary to what the Spanish company has always pursued in the neighboring country. It would be, for the moment, his only way to reach Paris, a city that continues to resist him. A complicated landing. And Renfe has tried to reach Paris by all the means at its disposal. These were, as could be expected, offering their services on a high-speed line as required by Europe and Spain is allowing Ouigo and Iryowith French and Italian origins respectively. However, France has tried to torpedo As far as possible, Renfe runs its lines. Right now, the Spanish have managed to launch a corridor between Madrid and Marseille and Barcelona and Lyon. However, the French have managed to protect the arrival of the Spanish company in Paris, where a very substantial part of the high-speed business is located. What has been argued from France is that Renfe trains do not meet the technical criteria to be able to operate on the lines that reach Paris. And in this way he has achieved that Renfe will not operate in the city while the Olympic Games were organized from Paris, which would have given a great boost to his project. Go for the regionals. Aware of the difficulties they are encountering to continue expanding their borders with high speed, Renfe has decided to take the leap with regional trains. In Forbes They explain that the process requires the final offer for the Paris-Dijon-Lyon line to be presented before the end of 2026. Next year the award of the line would be confirmed and between 2029 and 2030 the company that has received the approval must begin operating. Renfe’s great rival, everything indicates, will be the French SNCF. The Burgundy-Franche-Comté region, which is responsible for this line, has already put out a first batch of the tender that fell into the hands of the local company with hardly any opposition, they point out in Five Days. And in Spain? As we can see, Renfe has already shown interest in operating on regional trains in neighboring countries. However, in this case it is Spain that is putting all possible obstacles to delay competition on this type of lines in our country. According to the deadlines established since In 2016 the Fourth Railway Package will be approvedcompetition on these lines should have been a reality from December 25, 2023. In 2024, the contracts should have been awarded. However, Renfe is still the only company that currently offers this service and it does not seem that it will change. And it is that The Government has been working to delay the launch of new competitions in these ways. According to ABCthe current Renfe contract extended from 2018 to 2027. This year, 3% of the contract was to be put out to tender but the Government and Renfe have signed, without making it public, an addendum to it that extends said contract until 2028. Photo | Anthony Delanoix and Xataka In Xataka | Spain forced to open its lines to Ouigo. France is now doing everything possible to prevent the entry of Renfe

How to know where any Renfe train is in Spain in real time, and know if it has any delays

by

Let’s tell you how to know where any Renfe train is high speed, or long and medium distance. You will be able to do this with a website created by Renfe itself, where you can see all the Spanish railway traffic in real time. This is a particularly useful website when you want know where a specific train isso you can know the estimated time of arrival and if there are any delays. That’s why we are going to teach you how to use it. Watch Renfe trains in real time The first thing you have to know is that the website only monitors high-speed trains, or long and medium distance trains. This means that you will not find the Cercaníasbut the rest of the trains do, from the regional ones to the Euromed or the Ave. You can see them in motionand thus know where they are or if they have stopped. To access this website you have to go to the address real-time.longdistance.renfe.com. Inside you will see a map, where you will be able to see the railway network from all over the country, and zoom and navigate to see the area you want. When you zoom in you will be able to see the trains with different colors in the position they are in at all times. If you click on a train you will see all its information in a pop-up window. You will see your previous stop and next stop, your route and your identification number. You will also see the type of train it is and, most importantly, the expected time of your arrival. Next to this scheduled time you will see the time variation, which will show you the minutes of delay that the train is in, and the minutes of anticipation with respect to its initially scheduled arrival. You can also search for trains by their identification number. This way, if a family member is traveling to see you and gives you their train number, you will be able to monitor it in real time. When you search for a train, a column will also open on the right where you will see all its stops. In Xataka Basics | How to know if your train has canceled: where to look on Renfe, Iryo and Ouigo

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.