Renfe

Renfe is obliged to return money after 15 minutes of delay. Its president warns that this “would make tickets more expensive”

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The president of Renfe, Álvaro Fernández Heredia, assures that the company will not apply from January 1 the new compensation approved by Congress. He argues that the measure is “unconstitutional and generates inequality against Iryo and Ouigo.” Conflict. In November, Congress approved a PP amendment to the Sustainable Mobility Law that forces Renfe to recover its old compensation for delays. These are 50% refund of the ticket from 15 minutes of delay and 100% from 30 minutes. Currently, after the change which the operator made in July 2024, only returns money after 60 minutes (50% of the amount) and 90 minutes (100%). The amendment, which had the support of Vox, Junts, ERC, PNV, Podemos and BNG, sets January 1, 2026 as the date of entry into force. Renfe’s position. Fernández Heredia, has declared in RNE that “in principle, no” there will be changes next Thursday in the travel conditions. According to the president of the operator, the State Attorney’s Office is studying legal formulas to avoid applying the provision. “We have a legal opinion that clearly says that it is unconstitutional,” he said. explained in El País, arguing that it violates principles such as equal treatment, freedom of enterprise and two European regulations on rail transport services. The economic cost according to the operator. The president of the institution estimates the impact of the measure at more than 125 million euros annually, well above the 43 million that Renfe paid in compensation during 2023. As Fernández Heredia clarifies, the increase is not only due to more incidents, but also because the amendment extends compensation to all long-distance commercial services, including Avlo, Alvia and Intercity, not just the AVE. “Whoever wrote this didn’t know what he was doing,” pointed out to the middle. The consequences for the traveler. The president of Renfe warns that applying the new compensation would cause a 10% increase in fares and would displace up to 5% of passengers towards the competition. In addition, it warns that “deficient services that Renfe maintains in areas where Iryo and Ouigo do not operate would be put at serious risk.” “If we want it to be cheaper, provide deficient services and stop where no one stops, what we don’t want is liberalization,” declared in RNE. Inequality. The core of Renfe’s argument is regulatory asymmetry. And while this operator would have to return part of the money from 15 minutes late, Ouigo begins to compensate from 30 minutes (with purchase vouchers) and Iryo from 30 minutes as well. Both competitors only refund 100% of the amount after 90 minutes of delay, just like Renfe does now. “I don’t think this is being done because we want to improve the conditions of travelers, but rather because of an attack on Renfe,” he said. affirmed Fernández Heredia in El País. Legal battle underway. Sources from the Ministry of Transport they qualified the amendment to the media 20 Minutes as “demagogic and populist.” Minister Óscar Puente announced after the approval of the law that they would look for formulas to prevent its application, something that Fernández Heredia has confirmed is being studied. The president of Renfe regrets that the company “is not entitled to appeal to the Constitutional Court, which creates insecurity when it comes to defending ourselves.” He inherits the mark of ppolitical opulism. The president of Renfe was very critical of the parliamentary groups that supported the measure. “It was a slap in the face of Renfe to the Government,” as collected The Country. “It is a populist measure because they do not say that this measure implies ‘raising prices’ and that it will benefit the ‘other two companies,’” added in the interview on ‘Las Mañanas de RNE’. The president of the operator has asked the PP, Podemos and BNG for explanations about why the obligation only affects Renfe. “If we want to provide a guarantee policy and better compensation, the logical thing is that it should be for all travelers.” In Xataka | Public transport faces 2026 with extended aid and the approved Single Pass: there is still one step ahead

Renfe is obliged to compensate for delays of more than 15 minutes starting January 1. The Government wants to prevent it

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Renfe will have to compensate users whose trains are delayed more than 15 minutes. It has to do so by order of the Congress of Deputies that approved the amendment that included this detail within the Sustainable Mobility Law. Now the Government wants to torpedo it and is looking for solutions to avoid it. He claims to have reasons for this. The facts. A little over a month ago, The Congress of Deputies approved the Sustainable Mobility Law. in it were collected guidelines to guarantee support for aid for public transport or the first step for a new bus concessional system. But among the amendments that were made to the law, one was also carried out so that Renfe will compensate again to users whose trains were delayed by more than 15 minutes. It was a decision that reversed the decision which the company had taken a year earlier, when it expanded the criteria for returning part or all of the tickets. What had happened? In 2024, Renfe confirmed that it was rectifying its criteria for returning money for tickets. Until that year, the company was committed to returning part or all of the money spent under the following conditions: Delays of more than 15 minutes: payment of 50% of the ticket Delays of more than 30 minutes: 100% payment of the ticket With the changes applied in 2024, Renfe is operating as follows: Delays of more than 60 minutes: payment of 50% of the ticket Delays of more than 90 minutes: 100% payment of the ticket That is, in the first 59 minutes, the user currently does not receive a single euro of the price of their ticket. Previously, if delayed between 30 and 59 minutes, the customer received a full refund of the ticket. Now, by mandate of the Congress of Deputies, Renfe has to return to the previous compensations. That is, it will start returning money after 15 minutes. If nothing changes. And the Ministry of Transportation is looking for legal formulas to prevent this from happening, according to reports from Five Days. When the measure was announced, Óscar Puente, head of the Transportation portfolio, He already announced that they would look for solutions so that the current system does not go backwards. They point out from the media that Transportation lawyers are working against the clock to find judicial support that allows them to maintain the current situation. If not, as of January 1, 2026, passengers and consumer associations will have free rein to claim their money. What about Iryo and Ouigo? To understand why Renfe expanded its punctuality commitments, we must look at the return conditions of its competitors. Ouigo compensates in the following cases: Delay of more than 30 minutes and less than 60 minutes: 50% refund of the ticket in a non-refundable purchase voucher. Delay of more than 60 minutes and less than 90 minutes: 50% refund of the ticket in a refundable purchase voucher. Delay of more than 90 minutes: 100% refund of the ticket in a refundable purchase voucher. Iryo partially or totally refunds the money in the following situations: Delay of more than 30 minutes and less than 60 minutes: refund of 50% of the ticket in purchase voucher or cash. Delay of more than 90 minutes: 100% refund of the ticket in purchase voucher or cash. Inferiority. Since the amendment was approved, what the Ministry maintains is that with this new scheme the company competes under inferior conditions compared to Iryo and Ouigo. Renfe feels that it is being discriminated against in the market because it is the only company that is required to make these compensations while the Italian and French companies have room to play with them. The Government already pointed out this when the measure was approved, pointing out that the amendment (promoted by the Popular Party and approved with its support and that of Vox, Junts, ERC, Podemos and BNG) It was a political maneuver to focus on an alleged chaos in Renfe that, in his opinion, is not such. Furthermore, they point to another argument. The previous punctuality commitments were designed for a structure where only Renfe acted. Now, The trains on Spanish tracks have multiplied and the paradox may arise that a small delay caused by one of its competitors forces Renfe to return the money to its consumers and not to the company originating the problem. a hole. If the change ends up being effective, Renfe needs to make a piggy bank for possible refunds. And if we take into account the antecedents, the returns can amount to tens of millions of euros. In fact, four out of every 10 AVE trains In the summer they were delayed and up to two million travelers who previously obtained some type of refund were left without it. According to the calculations of The WorldIf the situation experienced this summer were to be repeated, the company will have to pay 79 million euros to its travelers. Money that was saved this summer in just three months. The problem has also been increasing because in Five Days They point out that the volume of these compensations remained at 42 million euros in 2023. However, since then Renfe services and traffic on the roads have increased, which increases the risk of delay. Photo | Xataka In Xataka | “There are no places for 10 days”: taking a train to go to work in Barcelona or Girona has become an impossible mission

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

AVLO’s departure from Madrid-Barcelona seemed like another problem for Renfe. He has left us an unexpected winner

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August 2025. The summer had started out average for Renfe and ended even worse. After an exchange of information, Renfe accepted that some Talgo AVRIL trains had suffered cracks in their structures and that they were being taken out of circulation, with the consequent suspension of service. And, of course, that has had consequences for travelers. Goodbye AVLO, goodbye. Everything ended up precipitating in the last days of August but the origin must be sought a few days before. At the end of July, Renfe paralyzed by surprise the sale of tickets for the AVLO service. The news was given from The Economist: AVLO trains had suffered cracks in their cars on the Madrid-Barcelona line. A few days later, Renfe confirmed this fact and began to apply a temporary solution. The idea is that the trains would continue running but reducing traffic speed there where it was believed that the trains had cracked. Some leaked photos Already in August they demonstrated the seriousness of the events. Renfe decided withdraw AVRIL trains of the service. And days later he ended up suspending the AVLOs. September. It was a strange month for Renfe. The company maintained the AVLO service in the early stages, but in the absence of finding a solution, it ended up canceling. relocate passengers of the service low cost of the company on the AVE. That is, a kind of upgrade to travelers who already had their ticket for beyond September 8. That put the company in trouble. Or at least that was the first reading. Since then Renfe does not compete directly against Ouigo and Iryo. Without a cheaper service, the Spanish company was left without the possibility of competing directly against foreign companies. However, it does not appear to have directly affected their results. How has it affected Renfe? If we take into account the latest data from the CNMCwhich refer to the months of July, August and September, we could say nothing or very little. Renfe Viajeros (which adds data from AVLO and AVE) has increased its occupancy by 4%, the number of travelers has increased by 0.6% and they have increased the use of rolling stock by 1.6%. Regarding prices, Renfe has also won. And the company has managed to increase the number of travelers despite an obvious increase in ticket prices. The AVE cost 70.58 euros on average, 13.3% more than in the same period last year and AVLO went to 51.35 euros, repeating the same growth. Retail. But what interests us most about this period is how prices behaved when AVLO was not available. In the month of September, AVLO prices dropped but let’s remember that they were only available for very few days. Instead, Renfe only offered AVE tickets. And they were shot. In September, service prices premium increased to 75.11 euros. It is 11.4% more than the previous month. But above all, it is a price 17.4% higher than that of the same month in 2024 when there were four companies available on the market. Beyond Renfe. Curiously, the one who performed the most in this case has not been Renfe. Iryo is the company that has increased prices the most in this period. With an average ticket price of 63.82 euros, the company seemed to have positioned itself between Ouigo and Renfe, offering an alternative halfway between both services. However, the absence of AVLO in the month of September must have triggered the demand for Ouigo and Iryo. This is the only way to explain why the Italian company raised the prices of its routes to 74.13 euros in that month, just one euro less than the AVE. Year-on-year growth that month reached 83.5%. For its part, Ouigo also raised prices but remained on a somewhat more contained line. In the quarter, the average ticket price was 51.86 euros, which already represents a growth of 20% compared to the previous year. In September, however, prices remained at 52.20 euros, slightly below the month of August but, yes, 30% more expensive than in September 2024. The complete photograph. Expanding on everything that happened, as expected, AVLO’s departure from the Madrid-Barcelona corridor has only increased prices. It is something that we were already beginning to suspect and that was logical if we take into account that it is the corridor with the highest occupation and use of the line. In fact, the latter exceeds 84% ​​and remains around 10% above any other high-speed corridor with liberalized services. It is the perfect environment for passengers dynamic prices suffer. Photo | Xataka and Logan Armstrong 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

Renfe needs new AVE and is already pressing for China to be its supplier

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That relations between China and the European Union are complex does not surprise anyone. That Spain is becoming one of the countries that is pushing the most to get closer to the Chinese State is another obvious fact. And our country has long been playing a complex game of balance in which it tries to keep all trade doors open with the Asian country while remaining within the rules set by the European Union. The evidence is there for anyone to see. The Ministry of Defense itself publish an article on your website in which he promotes the Spanish position as mediator between the European Union and China. The Government of Pedro Sánchez already tried to maintain balance during the April crossover game in the trade war between the United States and the Asian country. Months before, investments on Spanish soil were unlocked, like the CATL factory mounted together with Stellantis in Aragon, while was punished to the countries that were in favor of lifting tariffs against Chinese electric cars. Now it is the trains that are in the spotlight. Spain is looking for new high-speed vehicles. Renfe wants renew your fleet and it is confirmed that in the coming months it will launch a tender to which those companies that want to win the contract will have to attend. And meanwhile, Óscar Puente, Minister of Transportation, is surveying the different companies to get an idea of ​​the deadlines they manage. A round of interviews in which a manufacturer stands out. It’s Chinese, it has the fastest trains and they deliver them before anyone else. Puente has already made it clear. The question is what Europe thinks of all this. The best but with doubts “Chinese manufacturers deliver trains at half the price in a period of six months to two years, while the European industry offers them to you in 60 months. I am a politician, the one who buys, and I’m not 60 months old. I have discussed this problem with the European industry and with the EU Commissioner, and I believe that in the railway sector things should change and move towards the Airbus model, with which the aeronautical industry was saved.” With these words, Óscar Puente made it clear who he would entrust the purchase of Chinese trains to if it were only in his power. The person he is talking about is China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC). Their trains are the ones that are currently operating in the Asian country at 450 km/h (the infrastructure would have to be adapted so that in Spain they comfortably exceed 300 km/h) and according to Puente they can deliver them in much less time than those offered by European companies or Hitachi (Japanese). The words were spoken by Puente in an interview in the Chain Beingwith words collected by The Countrywhere it is noted that the Minister of Transport also has visited the German facilities from Siemens, another of the companies that could opt for the next big contract being prepared in our country. Siemens’ flagship train, the Velaro Novo, can also reach speeds of around 400 km/h top speed but the company has yet to demonstrate its ability to mass produce them. In Trenvista They analyzed the three vehicles that may be on the table, including an option with second-hand trains. Among the other competitors Featured is Hitachi. The Japanese company produces its trains in Italy. We are talking about the ETR-1000 or Freccisarossa, the same train that Iryo uses in Spain and which is underused in terms of top speed because the Spanish infrastructure does not allow it to reach the more than 350km/h for those that are approved. Alstom and CAF are also among the companies surveyed for transport. Companies that would be ahead of Talgo with whom the Government maintains an open conflict due to the delay in the delivery of trains and the breakdowns occurred on the Madrid-Barcelona line with cracks that They have taken AVLOs out of circulation on that line. All of them will be companies that will fight for a contract that is expected to reach around 27 million euros per unit purchased, according to 20 Minutes. In order to pay that money, Spain would go to European Investment Bank (EIB) to finance yourself at the best price. That would be one of the biggest complications for the Chinese manufacturer. CRRC is in the crosshairs of the European Commission which accuses the company of receiving huge state subsidies that allow them to put their trains on the market at a much more competitive price than that of European manufacturers. It is, therefore, a very similar case to what happens with the automobile market. The first conflict arose as a result of the intention of the Government of Bulgaria to acquire Chinese trains through a contract of more than 600 million euros. It included the delivery of 20 vehicles and their maintenance for 15 years. With the opening of the investigation, the manufacturer withdrew from the competition and finally the European Commission shelved the matter. Now it is Spain that is pressing to either acquire trains from this manufacturer or put the “Airbus model” on the table for the railway sector, with the aim of improving the competitiveness of the European Union in this market. Photo | Alejandro Luengo and Xataka In Xataka | The countries with the most kilometers of high-speed train, displayed in a graph with a brutal dominator: China

The surprise is not that in 2025 Renfe will offer a real-time map of commuter trains. The surprise is that it does not seem to be made by Renfe

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Renfe has just launched a website that allows users to consult in real time the situation of Cercanías and Rodalies trains in the towns where this service is available. And despite what one might think, that website works surprisingly well. Suburbs in real time. On the web real-time.renfe.com It is possible to first select the urban center in which we want to carry out the query so that at that moment the interface zooms in on that location and its Cercanías train network is displayed. The map shows the network lines clearly, but it also shows the position of the trains on that network, which is also updated automatically. The new interactive Renfe Cercanías map works really well. When does that train arrive at that stop? Not only can we see the general situation, but we can also click on any of the train icons shown on the map so that a popup window appears in the browser. It contains information related to that train, which stop it is coming from, which stop it is going to, or its expected arrival. Are you late? Another interesting element of this website is that it offers extra information about the punctuality of each train. Above and to the right of each train icon appears a dot that can be of various colors. Green indicates that it is on time or less than three minutes late. Orange indicates a delay of between three and five minutes, and red reveals a delay of more than five minutes. Extra information. On the left side of the website it is also possible to select one of the network lines of each municipality, and even a station, which will make the website zoom in on that specific station. If we select a line we can also consult the available services, and specifically we can know which stations on that line have accessible trains and stations, and where we can find bike racks. The colored dots that appear at the top right of each train’s icons reveal how punctual they are being. A promising service. This website also allows third parties such as Google Maps to offer this service through their own platforms, and becomes a way to mitigate uncertainty about the network situation. Pablo Fernández Pastor, Director of Innovation and Digital Transformation of Renfe Viajeros, explains how “the trip as such does not begin at the station, it begins from the moment you are beginning to plan it.” Long distance services coming soon. Those responsible for the service have also indicated that starting in the first half of 2026, real-time information on medium and long distance services will be incorporated into this website. If this experience maintains what is currently being offered, we will certainly have a very useful real-time information service for users. a pleasant surprise. The launch of this service is surprising, especially because in recent years we have seen how the Renfe website was criticized for its usability, its erratic behavior and how it has worked during periods of high demand. This service represents an important step in the right direction for Renfe, without a doubt. Image | Renfe In Xataka | There are no more 20 euro tickets: the trains between Madrid and Barcelona have become very expensive again for a reason

Congress will force Renfe to return the money for delays of 15 minutes. Renfe’s response: we’ll see

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Last year, Renfe expanded the strict criteria for returning money to its customers in case of delay. The measure came with controversy since these criteria had been applied since 1992 when the first AVE was launched. Almost 25 years later, the company relaxed these criteria to the point that two million passengers lost their money last year. Now, Congress forces Renfe to return to its previous criteria. But Renfe is not up to the task. When and how much money does Renfe return? Right now, to receive a partial payment for our ticket, the delay on the Spanish high-speed Renfe has to exceed 60 minutes. From 2024the company does not give half the money if the delay does not exceed one hour. In the event that we aspire to receive a full refund of the ticket, it will not arrive until we exceed 90 minutes. What has changed? Yesterday, November 13, The Congress of Deputies approved the Sustainable Mobility Law. It included an amendment from the Popular Party that returned the compensation that Renfe has to apply to those prior to the 2024 change. That is: Delays of more than 15 minutes: payment of 50% of the ticket Delays of more than 30 minutes: 100% payment of the ticket The change is substantial because this summer, four out of every 10 Renfe high-speed trains have arrived late. However, with the changes applied from 2024 they have been left without a refund around two million passengers. We’ll see. This is what the Ministry of Transport seems to say. And in statements to EFEsources from said ministry have described the amendment (which has been supported by Vox, Junts, ERC, Podemos and BNG) as “a demagogic operation and a toast to the populist sun.” Not only that, since The World They already state that Transport assures that they will look for “the legal formula to maintain the current system.” That is, the customer does not receive any refund for their ticket until after 60 minutes of delay. And that the total amount is not delivered until after 90 minutes. In the media they also report that Transport sources have indicated that the decision “only wants to penalize Renfe, a Spanish and public company, and not competing companies.” such as Ouigo and Iryo”, while highlighting that Renfe is a “public company that is fundamental to the structure of Spain”. In addition, Óscar Puente himself, Minister of Transport, has questioned the amendment. “Let’s see how it goes,” they say in The World who has responded about the new obligation. At a disadvantage? What Transport maintains is that the amendment promoted by the Popular Party puts Renfe at a clear disadvantage compared to Ouigo and Iryo. What the Government alludes to is that the reimbursement conditions by these companies are less favorable for the client, allowing them a competitive advantage. Ouigo compensates in the following cases: Delay of more than 30 minutes and less than 60 minutes: 50% refund of the ticket in a non-refundable purchase voucher. Delay of more than 60 minutes and less than 90 minutes: 50% refund of the ticket in a refundable purchase voucher. Delay of more than 90 minutes: 100% refund of the ticket in a refundable purchase voucher. Iryo partially or totally refunds the money in the following situations: Delay of more than 30 minutes and less than 60 minutes: refund of 50% of the ticket in purchase voucher or cash. Delay of more than 90 minutes: 100% refund of the ticket in purchase voucher or cash. Competence. What the Ministry of Transport points out is that this puts them at a disadvantage compared to the competition because Renfe adapted its compensation criteria to formulas similar or equal to those offered by its competition. However, the amendment introduced in the Sustainable Mobility Law only toughens the criteria for Renfe. It must be taken into account that the company has been around for more than a year experiencing a punctuality crisis. Although the Government points out that its punctuality is among the best in Europe, criticism has surfaced because trains that do not arrive on time have multiplied. Of course, when sharing roads with Ouigo and Iryo, it may be the case that a road blockade due to a breakdown of the latter ends up causing a delay in times when Renfe does have to return 100% of the ticket and its rivals will only deliver half of it. Photo | Carlos Teixador Cadenas in Wikimedia and Congress of Deputies In Xataka | If the summer has taught us anything, it is that Spain does not need more trains. You just need them to work.

Iryo arrived in Spain with a very ambitious plan to tighten the screws on Renfe. It has just asked its Italian parent company for a ransom

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Iryo has a problem in Spain: it can’t get clients. Or, we should say, it does not get enough clients to start making its railway project profitable in our country. Its occupancy rate in each and every one of the corridors is better than that of Renfe or Ouigo. In some cases it is certainly worrying. This is leading it to lose tens of millions of euros. And they have already asked Italy for help. 32 million euros. They are the ones that Iryo has lost in 2024. The losses are added to the 79 million euros that the company already lost in 2023 and the occupancy rates of 2025 are not inviting optimism. Although the company defends that They aim to be profitable this yearthe truth is that they had to pick up the phone and dial a number that begins with +39. Help. The call for help has reached Italy. In November 2024Trenitalia has already increased its participation in the company to go from 45% of the capital to 51%. The objective was clear: to provide the Italian parent company with full control of the company and, in this way, have greater room for maneuver to provide it with funds. However, the process to achieve profitability has become complicated. Air Nostrum and Globalia, which are part of the company’s shareholders, committed to putting up 15 million euros more to face possible losses this year. This economic push is just one more within a package that provides aid which has already had contributions of 44.7 million euros in April of last year and almost 35 million euros in the summer of 2024. The occupation. One of the problems that Iryo has encountered is that it cannot fill its trains. If we go to the CNMC datathe Italian company has the worst occupancy data of all Spanish high speed. Madrid-Barcelona: Occupancy of 96.4% (Renfe 112%, Ouigo 99%) Madrid-Seville: Occupancy of 83.2% (Renfe 93.3%, Ouigo 86.4%) Madrid Málaga-Granada: Occupancy of 82.2% (Renfe 93.3%, Ouigo 93.9%) Madrid-Valencia: Occupancy of 70.2% (Renfe 73.3%, Ouigo 88.8%) Madrid Alicante: Occupancy of 66.6% (Renfe 75.9%, Ouigo 87.8%) Added to this is that its power to attract customers by price is much smaller than that of Ouigo since only in Madrid-Alicante does it offer cheaper tickets than those of the French company and for just a few cents. In the rest of the corridors, Iryo is more expensive than the services of Ouigo and AVLO (Renfe). The plans. Yet, Iryo continues defending who aspire for 2025 to become their turning point. They plan to balance their accounts this year and make the jump to profits in 2026 and 2027. To do this, they trust in the arrival of new trains that will expand their capacity and allow them to play on price, first by lowering the price of the ticket and, second, by amortizing Adif fees more easily. In the words of its CEO, the company hopes that Galicia can be another beta where it can make money. However, it must be taken into account that the line moves between the Iberian width and the international width. S106 trains that can “jump” between both tracks are committed to Renfe and the only way to operate would be with a transshipment, which is more costly in time and less attractive to the customer. But it is not the only case. Perhaps the most worrying thing about Iryo’s situation is that, at the moment, Renfe and Ouigo are also losing money with high speed in our country. Since the market opened, the benefits have been exceptional. In 2024, Ouigo received an additional 25 million from SCNF, its French parent company, to cover losses. The initial investment of 200 million had to be expanded given that the company plost more than 40 million euros only in 2024. It is one of the reasons why the Government alleged that from France they were doping the company economically to weaken rivals. Despite everything, Renfe has also suffered heavy losses with high speed. In 2023 they exceeded 120 million euros in losses although in 2024 profitability has already been closelosing in this case about three million euros. Of course, Renfe Viajeros (the part of the company that competes with Ouigo and Iryo) did achieve just over five million euros in profits. Photo | Trenduck In Xataka | Spain wanted to turn the train into the great alternative for traveling in summer. Renfe has never had so many dissatisfied customers

Renfe has its AVRIL trains ready to put them back on the tracks. You just have to show that they don’t split

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It seems that the soap opera of Renfe’s AVRIL trains is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The company has already received the completely repaired trains from Talgo, according to The Economistwho claim that the company has confirmed this point to them. The first question is what will be the new destination of these trains. The second is whether they will pass the litmus test: proving that they do not split. Back. Renfe already has the S106 trains affected by the cracks suffered in the Madrid-Barcelona corridor while providing AVLO service. That is what the company itself has confirmed to us, which, when asked by Xataka has confirmed that the replacement of the bogies has now “been successfully completed”. The trains have returned three months after being sent for repairs to the railway company’s facilities. They have done so after having completely replaced the affected bogies. Instead of being repaired, they have been completely changed to avoid greater evils. What happened? At the end of July, Renfe began to receive signals that something was wrong with its AVRIL trains that provided the AVLO service (Renfe’s low cost line) on the Madrid-Barcelona route. Those signs were, directly, cracks in trains. Although first there was talk of one train, we finally know that there were five that ended up affected by cracks of different magnitudes. After a tug of war between The Economist (which advanced the news) and the company itselfRenfe ended up suspending the sale of AVLO tickets on the Madrid-Barcelona route and ended up redistributing the AVE service to customers. Now the company recovers those affected trains but it does not seem that Madrid-Barcelona will be their destination. Whose fault is it? It is one of the great unknowns. Renfe has pointed out Talgo as the culprit of the cracks, reminding him that the trains are under warranty and that, therefore, they were not going to pay for the repairs. Talgo, for its part, blames Adifensuring that the maintenance of the line is insufficient and that this has caused excessive vibrations that have led to the famous cracks. Everything indicates that the problem is in the section between Madrid and Calatayud. In fact, the company even considered that it would continue operating with its AVLO service in the corridor but at a reduced speed which, it is assumed, did not generate the vibrations and therefore should not have an impact on structural damage to the train. Ultimately, this option was discarded. Fire test. The return of the affected AVRIL trains is a litmus test for Renfe… but above all for Talgo. And it is that Renfe has already been looking for trains in Germany to look for an alternative to the S106, known as AVRIL, which only Talgo manufactures. Giving a good image with a unique train in the world is essential to a company that is in financial trouble. The S106 trains were to be a leap forward for the company. They are the only ones who, given the railway peculiarities of Spainthey can “jump” from Iberian gauge to international gauge. For Renfe they are key because this allows them to position themselves ahead of Ouigo and Iryo facing a future opening to competition in the Galician corridor. However, the S106 have arrived late and They have garnered numerous bad reviews. And where are they going? It is another of the doubts that remain to be cleared up. According to Alberto Puivecinoresponsible for infrastructure and mobility at CCOO in Catalonia, it is possible that these trains will be used for AVANT (medium distance high speed) services in the region. A line that joins Lleida, Tarragona, Barcelona, ​​Girona and Figueres. The information was made public after a meeting between CCOO and the Generalitat of Catalonia. In Xataka We have asked Renfe in this regard but they assure that “the service that the currently immobilized units 106 will provide has not yet been determined. In any case, wherever they are finally going to operate they will do so with full safety guarantees.” For now, the fate of these units remains to be revealed. What we do know is that it is a litmus test for Talgo that must demonstrate that its S106 trains are once again reliable and, above all, are safe enough. Photo | Miguel In Xataka | The countries with the most kilometers of high-speed train, displayed in a graph with a brutal dominator: China

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