Renfe

Ouigo has left 15,000 passengers stranded in Andalusia. Immediately afterwards, Renfe has put more trains at 7 euros

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From one day to the next and without giving too many explanations, Ouigo has canceled its services in Andalusia until next January 22. The French company leaves some 15,000 travelers on the ground who have to make ends meet to cover the Madrid-Seville or Madrid-Málaga that they already had planned. And Renfe is taking advantage of it. What has happened? About 15,000 passengers affected for the cancellation of eight daily services from Friday to Monday and six daily services from Tuesday to Thursday on those same routes until January 22 “for operational reasons.” These are all the explanations that Ouigo has given for paralyzing its services in the south of Spain. The French company has given these reasons to newspapers such as The Country either The World because it has not even published a statement with a press release or made public any type of text on social networks that communicates the massive cancellations for two weeks. The last tweet mentions the current offers. Since then, silence. And now? The customer has two options, as the company has communicated to passengers who have already purchased a ticket for the next ten days: Change travel date Cancel the trip at no cost Refund of the ticket price in a voucher that can reach 200% of the original ticket price On the rebound. The new situation has been taken advantage of by Renfe. The company has announced that it is activating two new daily services between Madrid and Seville with AVLO trains. The first of them leaves Madrid at 12:00 and returns from Seville at 5:17 p.m. The company has also indicated that the new trains are also available within the active offers of trains at seven euros. Renfe has also taken the opportunity to remind users that train companies have the obligation to propose an alternative means of transport. in less than 100 minutes since the cancellation occurs. If not, the customer has the right to a refund of the ticket price free of charge. The refund, they remember in the OCUmust be delivered in the same payment method and the acceptance of a voucher to travel on another occasion must always be voluntary. a stick. Although Renfe has arranged two special services on the Madrid-Seville, it seems clear that the new schedules cannot take on the volume of cancellations produced with the Ouigo trains, but it does serve Renfe for two things. The first is to receive unexpected income on the line. The second is that it allows them to send a message. And remembering the railway regulations is enough for Renfe to send a stick to Ouigo just when the controversy over compensation in case of delay is flying over the national panorama. It must be remembered that Renfe is obliged to refund, from January 1, 2026, 100% of the ticket if trains are delayed more than 30 minutes. A measure that the Government wants to avoid understanding that it is discriminatory for the public company compared to the competition. And Ouigo and Iryo benefit since what was approved by the Congress of Deputies only affects Renfe. Both the French and the Italian companies only return 100% of the ticket when delays exceed 90 minutes, a decision that Renfe continues to apply into 2026 since the State’s attorney has concluded with a report that the obligation is not such as of January 1 despite the change in regulations and that it is necessary to change the Railway Sector Regulation. as reported by the Ministry of Transport. The case has already occurred. Renfe also knows what it is talking about. And last summer, the fires in Zamora and León cut off the train service between Galicia and Madrid. Then Renfe was committed to returning the price total of the ticket, just as happens with Ouigo, but FACUA defended that the company was obliged to provide an alternative land service and that this was not being complied with. The railway company defended itself by saying that it was unthinkable to transfer the volume of passengers from the train to a bus service. Photo | Xataka In Xataka | Renfe has had a more dangerous rival than Ouigo: comply with its own schedules

I have tried to buy one of the 7 euro Renfe tickets. And Renfe has done Renfe’s

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January 8 in Madrid. A cold that cuts the face. Traffic jams everywhere with the children returning to school. Back to normal, to the office. To the computer. Depression. We Madrid residents need few excuses to flee the city. Perhaps that is why the Renfe discounts sounded like a swan song. Beach and paella. It almost doesn’t matter if it’s in May, April or the next weekend in January. Aware that It would be almost impossible get a ticket at that price, I missed the opportunity to avoid unwanted frustrations. Let’s try tomorrow, see if… And here I am, hooked on the Renfe website, with thousands of people ahead of me in a virtual queue that leads nowhere. I was looking for a relaxing weekend. An appetizer to put in my mouth during this return to routine. And right now I feel like I’m in line at Doña Manolita on December 21, two kilometers from the door and 20 minutes until the lottery administration closes. Seven euros (or many more) And well, here we are. I go to the Renfe website. I select the offer that promises tickets for seven euros. And we have to wait. Seven minutes and just over 3,000 people. It could be worse, I think. Much worse, in fact, because since yesterday the website has been crashing. Of course, They are not the more than 166,000 people which my colleague Javier Pastor encountered in April 2022. Then the tickets cost 15 euros and there were 100,000 seats available to buy in three days. This time Renfe The number of seats has not been made public. but it has confirmed that the reduction with seven euro bills will be active until January 18. I think that with ten days of margin, the volume of people who aspire to buy their ticket will be somewhat lower. Time, in fact, seems to be working in my favor. The minutes are falling. A little slower than what is stated on the sign above but just over 10 minutes after logging in, Renfe confirms that I have started the purchase process. According to them, it should have been on the platform for a couple of minutes. I therefore have 18 minutes left. Or I should wear them. Because I confirm that I want to access the site as soon as possible. “Yes please”. The screen refreshes. Another minute has passed. We have 17 minutes left. “Yes please”. Wow, it seems that my turn has expired despite having waited patiently and confirmed all the steps without leaving the active tab (whatever might happen). And here we are, starting the whole process again. Again seven minutes ahead and more than 3,000 people in the virtual queue. My paella is starting to choke. Again, same screen: “Yes, please” This time yes. This time it seems that I have been able to access the platform. Obviously, the tickets are not as I expected. I sail between weekends. The only seven euro tickets on a Friday are those that leave at 6:30 am. I discard that option because I have the bad habit of working on Fridays. I choose to leave on Saturday at that same time. The relaxing weekend starts with an early morning, but hey, we’ll disconnect until Sunday night. But to return on Sunday night there are no offers. Accepting that I will have to spend more than 14 euros to go and return, I stretch the gum to the maximum. I tell myself “I’ll take Friday off on vacation but I’ll take full advantage of the weekend.” I’m going to June. I select departure at seven euros at 6:30 in the morning. But dynamic prices have done their thing. Returning on Sunday at the last minute will cost me over 60 euros. There are no longer even weekends at bargain prices. And assuming that hotels will be much more expensive, I return to the month of January. I think that going for seven euros and returning for 35 euros from Valencia is not bad at all. I have already taken the bait of compulsive buying and I’m not willing to let go. I select the departure on Saturday at 6:30 in the morning. I eat that paella. I select the return after 9:00 p.m. I’ll see what I do until that time, Alberto’s problem from the future. Mech. Mistake. Yes, I have selected the one-way ticket but Renfe tells me no. I refresh and go back. I select the idea again. I select the return. Now, I go one step further. It remains to fill in the traveler’s information and pay. I would like to do it but At this point the website freezes. It starts to malfunction. The scrolling is jerky and it is impossible to press any button. I can’t fill out the form. It won’t let me change the email. Of course, it doesn’t let me go to the payment platform. Soda. I have 4245 people in front of me. Photos | Renfe and Xataka In Xataka | Renfe is obliged to compensate for delays of more than 15 minutes starting January 1. The Government wants to prevent it

Ouigo and Renfe unleash a price war like we have not seen in a long time

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Who was going to tell us 20 years ago that we would change the traditional races at the doors of El Corte Inglés on January 7 to burn the F5 on the Renfe website. Or, much more inconceivable, that of another French company that was going to compete with the public company to take us on high-speed trains through our country. However, this is how we are. January sales. Since yesterday, January 7, Ouigo has put it up for sale train tickets at reduced prices. So reduced that it is possible to find options for nine euros because 80% of the available tickets are discounted. The maximum price of these tickets is 33 euros. The offer will last until next January 14th… as long as there are tickets available. An almost carbon copy maneuver Renfe has undertaken. Since January 8, the Spanish company has opened juicy discounts on its train tickets. In this case, the offer extends until January 18 on AVE, Avlo, Alvia, Intercity, Euromed and AVE Internacional tickets, but it is not specified how many tickets are available with discounts that offer AVLO tickets at seven euros and AVE tickets at 15 euros. CNMC source: https://www.cnmc.es/sites/default/files/6291881.pdf New year, cheap trains. It has been a constant since competition entered the Spanish railways. Train prices in our country plummet every beginning of the year, as shown in the graph above referring to the Madrid-Barcelona corridor from the Railway Traveler Report presented by the CNMC every quarter. The image above refers to the most used broker in our country and, therefore, the least susceptible to price changes. Obviously, the image is repeated on trips to Andalusia or the Levant. Thus, all companies lower prices with juicy discounts at the beginning of the year. Then they rise due to Easter and the arrival of summer and suffer a small drop again in the third quarter before picking up again at the end of the year. It repeats. If we take a look at the report that collects data from just one year ago, we see how the number of passengers has been increasing in recent years but that prices had to drop to transport a passenger with fewer incentives to move in a quarter without major holidays and worse weather prospects. That made it so that in 2025, according to data from the CNMCin the first quarter of the year, AVE prices fell by 9.2%, Iryo prices by 11.2%, Ouigo prices by 16.1% and AVLO prices by 19.5% compared to the previous quarter in the Madrid-Barcelona corridor. And December is one of the most expensive months of the year to buy tickets and this is repeated in all corridors. With leaden feet. Although the offers are attractive, we must not lose sight of the fact that it is a specific ticket sale and that what sets the trend is the average price at which most tickets are sold. And the last few months tell us that ticket prices are going up. This quarter’s performance is something we will have to wait to find out but if we look at last year’s data from the same Madrid-Barcelona corridor, only Iryo lowered prices in a representative manner when compared to the previous year. It did so by 5.4%, followed by AVLO which lowered prices by 3.9%. However, the AVE only fell by 0.9% and Ouigo raised prices by 5.6%. On average, the price only fell by 0.9%. It is true that in the Andalusian corridors and in Madrid-Valencia, prices fell significantly last year, with drops in the average ticket price of between 10 and 17%. Of course, it must be taken into account that these are destinations where the seasonal influence is more pronounced than in Madrid-Barcelona, ​​a more stable corridor in passenger volume. Fewer offers and more profitability. We give this notice because in recent times we have seen how the prices of Spanish trains have been rising. According to the latest report from the CNMCwhich refers to the third quarter of 2025, the average interannual price of this period increased by more than 25% in Madrid-Barcelona and remained more or less stable in all corridors except Madrid-Málaga, which Until last year it did not have the Ouigo factor. However, from all companies they have paved the way so that we get the idea that the price is going to rise. So much Iryo as Ouigo They have announced that they are ending losing money to enter a new market. Both have made changes in management and from Renfe they have warned that If the competition raises prices they will follow. Photo | Xataka In Xataka | When Iryo and Ouigo began to compete with Renfe they did so by lowering prices. Those days are not coming back

In a chaotic 2025 of cancellations and delays, Renfe does have good news: record number of travelers

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Renfe has had one of its most chaotic years in 2025. The company has had to face more competition than ever, it has suffered delays due to its own trains and infrastructure, it has seen Talgo trains crack or how fires blocked its most profitable line. And, despite everything, he has achieved a new record. 37.3 million. They are the people who have traveled on AVE and long-distance Renfe trains. And in 2025 the company has managed to move more people than ever on these trains. The figure is 6% higher than that achieved a year ago when it added 35.2 million trips. According to data provided by the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, the bulk of these trips are made up of the AVE, which has set a new record with 21.5 million trips. That’s a million more travelers than last year. Although AVLO is the company that has had the best performance, growing from 4.55 million in 2024 to 6.2 million travelers in 2025. Where? According to Transport, the corridor that continues to receive the most passengers is the Madrid-Barcelona route ending in Figueres. In total, Renfe has attracted 8.1 million passengers to this corridor. The figure is almost identical to last year’s. The Levante and Mediterranean corridor (which connects Madrid with the Valencian Community and Murcia) is where the impact on passenger growth has been felt most. Here, trips have increased from 5.5 million to 7.7 million. Andalusia has also experienced growth from 6.9 million travelers to 7.2 million. Although the corridor that has added the most passengers is the Madrid-Castilla y León-Galicia one. Adding its routes and the connection with Asturias has gone from 2.5 million travelers in 2024 to 4.6 million. Doubts. What Renfe leaves up in the air is how much passenger volume has been lost on other lines. In his statement It is not explained, for example, how many passengers there are in the Extremadura corridor. And if the data is well transmitted, there are lines that have had to lose the number of passengers. The text mentions, as we said, an increase of 2.1 million passengers in the sum of high-speed and long-distance lines. However, there is talk of increases of 2.2 million passengers in the Mediterranean corridor, 2.1 million in the northwest area and 300,000 more passengers in Andalusia, without mentioning the inevitable drops in passengers on other lines. A chaotic year. Although it is the year in which it has moved the most passengers, 2025 has been a chaotic year for Renfe, marked by the following milestones: And some good things. In addition to increasing the number of travelers, 2025 has also had some good things for Renfe. To begin with, it has been confirmation that the train can fight the plane as long as high-speed trains work with guarantee. And the fact is that Madrid-Galicia has made the airlines retreat. The company, Renfe points out, continues to be the most used in all corridors (although it is not specified that it is the one that works the most frequencies) and its travelers will be able to benefit from the new flat rate ticket of 60 euros to take all medium and long distance trains and that is pending the addition, potentially, of municipal or regional public transport. Furthermore, and although this is not so good for Renfe but for the user, travelers we should be able to receive refunds partial or total delays of more than 15 minutes this year. Photo | Xataka In Xataka | Renfe is obliged to compensate for delays of more than 15 minutes starting January 1. The Government wants to prevent it

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

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