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

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

Spain wanted to turn the train into the great alternative to travel in summer. Renfe never had so many dissatisfied customers

13 hours stopped in the middle of the field. That has been the last great controversy in the Spanish railway sector where, among accusations crosses, hundreds of passengers saw how high speed was paralyzed in southern Spain. High speed that should be the great alternative to the car. But there is a fact: there were never so many unsatisfied customers. The last. On June 30, late in the afternoon, High speed collapsed In southern Spain. Just when summer displacements begin, The tension drop in a catenary He left hundreds of travelers thrown along the way. In the worst case, the trip became a nightmare that lasted 13 hours and ended with a hospitalized old woman. Of course, it seems complicated that users of that same train do not climb to the car of the dissatisfied with the delays that, every time, They are more common in Renfe trains. Folding the data. Practically, one in 10 Renfe high speed travelers are dissatisfied with the punctuality of the service. Specifically, 8.5%, according to the study of Household Panel that CNMC performs and in which satisfaction is collected with the services provided in Spain. The data does not take into account the latest incidents of A very moved 2025 since they are the first semester of 2024. The CNMC only collects satisfaction with the railway services the first semesters of each year but the data are very worrying. In 2020, only 4.8% of customers were dissatisfied with punctuality. Neither bird nor avlo. There are more reasons to worry. In 2020, only 0.6% of customers were “nothing satisfied” with the punctuality of the service. Today that data is 4.2%. And of 11.8% who were not “satisfied or dissatisfied” has passed to 19.1%. That is, the balance has leaned towards discontent. Especially if we take into account that 36% of AVE customers in 2020 were “very satisfied” with punctuality. Today that data is 22.5%. But, in addition, discontent is triggered among Avlo customers. In that case (there are only data from 2024) dissatisfaction is 13.1% although 23% of train users consider that they are “very satisfied” with the arrival in trains. That is, the bird data is very slightly improved. And the new operators? It is what should worry the most. The CNMC encompasses Ouigo and Iryo in the same table but points out that dissatisfaction with these companies is 8%. A very similar fact if it were not because the “very dissatisfied” client is found in 2.2%, almost half than the bird. In addition, 13.2% of customers say they are dissatisfied with the prices of Ouigo and Iroy but the figure is triggered at 23.3% in the case of avlo and up to 31.3% in the case of AVE. Only one section. There is only one section where the AVE expires new competitors and is in the state of trains. The dissatisfaction in this case is 8.3%, for 9.8% of Ouigo and Iroy trains. Of course, Avlo shoots up to 12.2% of dissatisfied customers. In the rest of the questions, which refer to the overall state of the stations, the price, the frequency, the time of path and the punctuality, ouigo and Iryo they always exceed what is offered by Renfe, both by AVE and by Avlo, which records but is general results. Alternative? Perhaps the biggest problem for the government is that it wanted to make the train a real alternative to vehicles by road. In 2021 The possibility of prohibiting domestic flights between cities that had a high speed alternative that had less than two and a half hours of journey was already touched. The last offensive To stop domestic flights is trying to prohibit their advertising. But in the practical field, in Spain free train fertilizers have been subsidized (including high speed partially) Since 2022. Following him German example that filled the trains As a measure to alleviate the effects of the Ukraine War, the Spanish Executive has maintained public transport aid that have sustained until this year. Can work … If you meet what is expected. In fact, high speed between Galicia and Madrid has shown that the train can be a Very interesting alternative to domestic flights But it is essential that it works quickly, punctuality and security. However, in ABC They point out that the continuous problems in trains have returned to some passengers to airplanes in Sevilla-Madrid. An example of what the continuous delays in rail services that, on average, In 2023 they almost reached 30 minutes. Photo | OUIGO AND NELSO SILVA In Xataka | The bird to Galicia has achieved what seemed impossible in a Santiago-Madrid: airlines that throw the towel

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

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

Renfe has exploded the problem of the bird in full start of summer

The rail transport has started Julio, a month usually marked by vacation trips, from The worst forms Possible, with considerable chaos in one of its great arteries: the high speed corridor between Madrid and Andalusia. Trains stopped for hours. Delays Suspended services. And a monumental anger among the affected passengers joined to the one already showed in May, when Copper theft He collapsed the bird of Seville. What happened? That in the full start of July, with thousands of people making their bags to enjoy their summer vacation, the Spanish railway sector has encountered a considerable problem in one of its great arteries: the high -speed corridor between Madrid and Andalusia. And it is not the first. In early May the Madrid-Sevilla AVE line has already suffered A collapse which resulted in trains detained for hours, saturated stations and thousands of passengers (there was talk of more than 16,000) affected. Fault in a catenary. The notice jumped yesterday around the afternoon in the province of Toledo, where Adif recorded A fault in a catenary between the Yeles (Toledo) and La Sagra (southwest of the Community of Madrid). The problem, according to detailed in x The administrator of the railway infrastructure caused it a “lack of tension” that directly affected the high -speed trains that Madrid and Toledo connect with Andalusia. Click on the image to go to Tweet. An incidence with hangover. The chronicle of what has happened can be followed by a tweet. About half past nine of the Adif Night confirmed A “breakdown” in the catenaria (without going into details) that led him to mobilize technicians, displace relief locomotives to move the trains stopped outside the stations and even ask for help to the 112 of Castilla-La Mancha to attend affected travelers. At ten o’clock Adif confirmed that he had recovered the tension on one of the roads between the Sagra and Yeles, which partially unlocked the Madrid/Toledo-Andalucía corridor; But that solved only part of the problem. Adif itself acknowledged that the affected trains would continue to suffer delays by having to operate in a single route. Well, enter the morning, at 5.20 hhe chose to cut the tension to focus on the catenary that was still blocked and recover the second way from the yles to Mora. Checking the grill. The result was The suspension of the first -hour trains with origin Atocha and Destinad Andalucía and Toledo. “The difficulty of the rescue of two trains affected by the incidence and prolongation in the work to repair the catenary prevent the trains of the South Corridor with origin/destination Madrid and/or Sevilla circulating until new notice,” needed Almost at nine in the morning. The consequences They let themselves feel Also in long distance connections with Malaga, Granada, Cádiz and Huelva and Trains with Toledo, Puertollano and Ciudad Real. Click on the image to go to Tweet. “Delays can be recorded”. The message confirming that the catenary breakdown was repaired did not reach the eleven of this morning, which opened the door at the end of the trains of Madrid to the south and those that start from Andalusia and Castilla-La Mancha direction to the capital. Of course, the administrator of the railway infrastructure was cured in health with a clear warning for the passengers of the corridor: “Delays can be recorded due to the accumulation of trains.” “Absolute abandonment”. So far the Chronicle of Adif. The collapse in the railway corridor, however, left another very different story in networks, the one contributed by the passengers affected by the fault. “What seemed like a simple trip has become a nightmare: we have been trapped in the middle of a plain in Toledo, without electricity, without bathrooms, with an unbearable heat and surrounded by insects,” He denounced this morning An X user, Antonio Regalado, annoyed by the “absolute abandonment” of Renfe 5862. An evacuated octogenarian. “Thirteen trapped hours. This is not a delay, it is an abandonment”, insists Given. According to her testimony, a woman even suffered an arrhythmia and had to be evacuated in ambulance. “There are older people, children and passengers totally abandoned, with anxiety, hunger and without explanations.” 112 Castilla-La Mancha has confirmed In networks that of the five trains of the Madrid-Sevilla line damaged between the provinces of Toledo and Ciudad Real, four were able to continue the march during the night. The convoy located in Villaseca de la Sagra ran worse luck, so the 112 operators had to attend them at night. They also had to evacuate an old woman 84, who ended up being transferred to Toledo University Hospital for respiratory failure. The train did not resume its trip to Madrid until 9.30 a.m. Image | Pablo Nieto Abad (Flcikr) In Xataka | China wanted to be the queen of high -speed trains. So he built all the longest bridges in the world

France and Italy are passing over Renfe. Your income and benefits are huge thanks to a liberalization to the letter

Forced by the European Union in a process that began in the 90s and that ended up consolidating in 2005, Renfe and Adif separated their paths. 20 years ago the separation that divided the management of trains and passengers (Renfe competition) of infrastructure maintenance (Adif competition), with the aim of fulfilling European obligations to liberalize the rail transport of people and goods on Spanish soil. That liberalization of passenger transport did not have consolidated until 2021 when Ouigo started operating On Spanish roads. Shortly after more competition with Iro would arrive. Along the way, Renfe launched his avlohigh speed Low Cost of the Spanish company. Since then, the four companies (and their three operators) They have fought their particular battle to conquer the public … inside and outside Spain. And it is where, everything indicates, France and Italy are passing over Renfe. France, far ahead of any competitor The data of the unequal result that Spain is obtaining in front of the Italian FS Italiane and, above all, the French SNCF brings them electionomista.eswhere they echo the income and, above all, the financial result they are obtaining and those that are noticed in the future. Analyzing the financial results presented by companies, the sum of Renfe and Adif (Then we will see why this is important) have generated benefits of 280.15 million euros in 2024. However, they do not compensate for the losses of almost 353 million euros they signed in 2023. Among the big European companies, Spain and France are the only ones that have had benefits in 2024 but it must be taken into account that the figure of FS Italiane in 2023 was extraordinarily good. And it is that its 208 million euros of losses are well compensated with the 1,100 million euros that obtained as a benefit in 2023. That is, between 2023 and 2024, Renfe and Adif lost around 73 million euros. In that period, Italy won almost 900 million euros with its company for the exploitation of rail services. Although the true winner is the French SNCF. The 1,310 million euros that they won in 2023 fell short if we take as a reference 2024 when the company accumulated a benefit of 1,557 million euros. The gap It can be even greater if we take into account the volume of income. Spain adds with Renfe and Adif 5,526.45 million euros. Compared to any other country of competition is a very small figure. Germany added with DB 26,211 million euros in revenue (although it is by far the country that loses more money, with 1.8 billion spatched in 2024). Italy stayed at 16,529 million euros but, as we have seen, the balance in the last two exercises is very positive. And France breaks the graph with 43,354 million euros of income. A liberalization to the letter that is decisive Although European liberalization was aimed at being talking about companies here and not countries … the truth is that we do not have to. As we said, in Spain Renfe and Adif took separate roads in 2005. We have already seen, a company in charge of infrastructure management and another of trains and trips because, in theory, they could not be the same company to guarantee competition. However, in Germany, France and Italy Companies that manage each type of business They have stayed together in the same group Business, which facilitates operations within the same country and serves as a barrier to entry to foreign competitors. A way of acting that, in fact, has been criticized by the European Union but has remained standing despite everything. Among those investigations is the one that The European Commission opened To determine if the state aid received by SNCF in 2007 and 2019 comply with the legislation. The verdicts are important because Spain (which did comply by separating Renfe and Adif from root) has accused France and SNCF from dumping. According to the government, it is the French aid that allows Ouigo to operate in Spain despite collecting losses what would reaffirm his complaint against Europe. From ouigo they have reiterated that These results are the usual in a company that is entering a new market. This way of working has also been key to putting all possible brakes at the Spanish entrance to the French market. Renfe assures that from the Gallic country The deadlines have been dilated as possible And they have squeezed the regulations to certify that the Talgo trains with which they want to operate are not valid to reach Paris, where the great business of the French railways is located. The obstacles are so many that Renfe, as he collects The avant -gardehe would be evaluating the neighboring country. Paloma Baena, general director of Renfe Operadora Global Strategy, arrived at demand in the French Senate equal treatment and pointed out that they did not expect to function normally until 2029 if everything followed. In 2024, Renfe demanded To the French transport regulator the same and SNCF took a pull of ears by its compatriots. However, nothing has changed. In Germany, Italy and France, the operators of services and railway lines are working under the same business group. This, according to electionomista.esfacilitates its expansion to other areas related to public transport and other countries. Keolis is a SNCF subsidiary and receives income abroad for services in urban and interurban transport. Eurostar squeeze the European monopoly. At this time, 38% of SNCF income They arrive from abroad. France plans to take ouigo to Italy, plan to operate in Canada and have a high speed line in Morocco. Italy, on the other hand, has managed to enter the Lyon-Paris route and stay in the Milan-París. He intends to connect the gala capital with London and Brussels while his expansion for Germany, in Munich and Berlin is scheduled. In addition, it already has services in Spain, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and operates four subway lines in Riad (Saudi Arabia). For its part, Spain barely receives income that … Read more

Buying a Bad Bunny ticket is easier than reserving a Madrid-Vigo. So Galicia already plans to denounce Renfe

You enter the application and everything is busy. There is no option to opt for another time slot. Touch wait, put the alarm and try tomorrow again. We do not talk about the nth battle to reserve a class in a gym too saturated, we talk about what Galician users who intend to reserve a Renfe train and check with stupor how You can’t do it two months in view. Or, in the worst case, how they can never do it. The entrance of the dynamic prices He has caused many travelers to be in the position of not knowing what will happen with a trip. With numerous discomforts when booking tickets. With the confirmation that each trip is a battle to free from the phone. Especially when we talk about complicated dates such as summer or Christmas holidays. And that’s why Galicia’s Xunta threatens to denounce Renfe. Some tickets impossible to buy This happens because there is “a monopoly position.” This is how Diego Calvo has defined, Ministry of Presidency, Xustiza and Deportes de Galicia the situation in which they are living with Renfe. A situation that is born, in his words, for an “abuse of domain” that “prevents Galicians from planning trips.” This situation derives from the fight involved in seats since the dynamic prices that is, those who fluctuate depending on the availability and demand. Faced with the fear that prices are triggered, users try to reserve the train squares as soon as possible and these are exhausted in a very short time Two months seen. The company itself warns of this On its website But the problem is especially serious when dates indicated as festivities, holidays or Christmas. First because high demand triggers prices and because, second, days or hours apart you can make you buy the same ticket at a much higher price. That, if you can buy it. As the temporal limit is blocked two months after Buy tickets for a Bad Bunny concert. What they denounce from the Xunta is that its citizens are being harmed because while other parts of Spain can be chosen between Iryo, Ouigo or Renfe, the latter only circulates. This is not only a problem for prices, it is also a problem for which it looks like an insufficient number of places offered. Therefore, they have commissioned the Galician commission to compete with a report in which it is analyzed if Renfe is using an “abusive behavior” by preventing long -term tickets and emphasizing, in words collected by ABCthat from Renfe they have not “justified the reasons for these conditions.” The argument of the Xunta is that Renfe is contravening the Law of Defense of the 2007 Competition by preventing long -term bills from reserving because “it lacks an objective economic justification.” In The voice of Galicia The problem has echoed a long time, pointing out that users feel irritated and mistreated. Photo | Marcelo In Xataka | The center of Madrid is the last battle of Renfe and Ouigo: he wants to leave from Atocha and only Renfe has the approval

Renfe informs of stops and aen of incidents

Its causes are still unknown, but the massive blackout that has left widespread areas of Spain and Portugal is also affecting public transport, including rail, air and even, in some areas, traffic lights. In his official X profile, Renfe details that at 12.30 there was an electricity supply cut throughout the national electricity network that has resulted in “detainees and without outputs at all stations”, without providing more data. Similar message He has moved Aenawhich acknowledges that due to the power cut there are “some incidents” in airports and has resorted to contingency structure, which remain active. Likewise, public transport of at least some cities has been affected, such as Madrid. The Metro responsible They report that the service is interrupted due to “lack of electricity supply.” (Information in development)

Renfe aspired to win 5,000 million euros with an AVE in the US copying Japan. His government has just kill him

Unite the cities of Dallas and Fortworth with Houston. That is the project with which Renfe hoped to continue growing in his international projects. The construction of a high -speed line for just 386 kilometers that allows these cities to be connected in just 90 minutes. The project allows to connect the two most important Texas cities with a train that travels to 386 km/h, according to You can read on the Renfe website. The Spanish company has presented this project as Texas Advisor Central Railroadoffering their experience in “the stages of development, design and construction and in the commercial operation (operations, maintenance, promotion and sale of tickets)”, according to the company’s own words. Renfe went up to the train of this project in 2018 and his involvement grew in 2021 when he signed the contract to become an infrastructure operator. With this new high -speed line I expected to win more than 5,000 million euros from here to 2042, when the contract expired. However, the United States government has withdrawn all funds. A dead point project “I am pleased to announce that Fra and Amtrak agree that the financing of this project is a waste of taxpayers’ funds and a distraction of Amtrak’s main mission to improve their existing deficient services,” The statement indicates Sent by the United States Department of Transport. The words are from Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation of the country that has withdrawn the 63.9 million dollars of subsidy that the Federal Railway Administration (FR) dedicated to the high -speed railway corridor of Amtrak Texas, previously known as the Texas Central Railroad project. In the published information, Duffy emphasizes that the project was born with an exclusively private spirit but that with delays and unforeseen costs increased significantly. So much that they estimate that you can go to the 40,000 million dollars “What makes the construction unrealistic and a risky company for the taxpayer”, in words expressed in the statement. The high speed project to join these two cities re -enters the dead and is a setback for the Spanish company. They explain in Five days that Renfe became part of it in 2018, first with a job of Advice and Line Design. In 2021, The contract was extended and made the Spanish company a future operator of the same with which he hoped to win 5.3 billion euros before 2042. However, the issues With this high -speed line they had been accumulating long before. The creation of this line has its origin in 2009 under the company Lone Star High-Speed ​​Rail LLC. Three years later, the company changed its name to Texas Central Railway. After verifying that the costs were fired, it was accepted that public capital supported the project. In spite of everything, the calendar has breached again and again. Environmental and security permissions should have been achieved in 2020 but delays have been added to which the colon of the coronavirus crisis and an expropriation of land that follows in the courts have been added. In 2017, the United States government with Donald Trump to the head included the project as “a national transport infrastructure priority,” they point out in Five daysand with Joe Biden in command of the country State funds from the Infrastructure Plan were allocated To keep the project alive. Now, in Trump’s second term, the Department of Transportation has canceled it. Until now, the plan went to implement a small -scale replica of the famous rail system of Japanese high speed tokaido shinkansenoperated by Central Japan Railway Company (JRC). Thus, the train It could reach 386 km/h peak speed and join Dallas and Fortworth (separated by about 50 kilometers) with Houston in 90 minutes. You wanted to establish a regular service with a train every 30 minutes. Photo | Xataka In Xataka | Japan has just discovered one of the most lucrative businesses of your bullet train: the sale of food carts

He wants to leave atocha and Renfe only has the approval

The war for high speed is fought battle. Even with the smallest. Since Ouigo and Iro They will become part of the options that the new client has available in our country when getting on a long -distance and high speed train, Renfe quarrels They are repeated with an intermittence that already passes to recurring. The last episode of this guerrilla war has a Atocha in the focus of the matter. The Madrid station has become Renfe’s great bastion when capturing customers who move towards Levante. The company operates with four trains to Valencia and four others with destination Alicante that leave from the central Madrid station. The problem for Ouigo and Iro is that Renfe is alone. Both operators leave from Chamartín as a result of some expansion works of the station that banished all the journeys between Valencia and Alicante with Madrid north of the capital. To all but four links offered by Renfe. The company managed to maintain the exit of four trains daily from the Atocha. A movement that was denounced by Ouigo when considering that the company was obtaining a competitive advantage. Now, the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) allows Renfe to expand the number of trips offered despite the fact that Adif fined previously for this reason. In the background, the fight to operate at the busiest station in Madrid. The fight to operate in Atocha To understand everything that has happened you have to look at the past. In 2022 It was confirmed that all trips between Madrid and Valencia or Alicante would move to the Chamartín station to allow the Expansion works of the Atocha Station. The problem, it was said, is that with the new operators the station had no capacity to absorb all its demand. The decision raised criticism among the politicians of Valencia and Alicante Because trips to Barcelona or Seville have remained in Atocha even though they also enter the south of the capital. Until 2028when the works are expected to finish, passengers have to add 10 more minutes of journey and go to a less central station in the city. However, although Ouigo and Iroo had to displace all its operationsRenfe maintained four daily journeys between Madrid and Valencia from Atocha. Ouigo denounced that they got a competitive advantage to understand that the centrality of the station is an incentive against other options. Finally, That complaint was filed But the CNMC did fined Adif with two sanctions that added 11,800 euros to understand that the process had not been transparent and that the transfer to Chamartín had not been communicated at the same time to the three operators so Renfe played with advantage, as they collect in Levant. In spite of everything, the trips between Atocha and Valencia remained for Renfe and, now, he receives another back. The CNMC will allow Renfe to operate with four other daily trips between the Madrid and Alicante central station. A decision that for competition “It will not affect significantly” To its competitors although it confirms that Atocha attracts a greater number of travelers. They explain, despite everything, that they only received the interest of Iro and Renfe to take the permission to take these holes that were now free. Getting with the Atocha station is especially interesting for high -speed operators. Its centrality allows you to attract the Interest of a greater number of customers Potentials, especially in the center and the southern zone, Chamartín Front. Renfe can continue offering slightly faster paths (10 minutes) but, above all, it allows you to position yourself as the only alternative at the station, which can be especially interesting to other high -speed options Or even the plane. Photo | Francesco Zivoli and Xataka In Xataka | Renfe confirms a sad reality of trains in Spain: they are impossible to be punctual

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

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

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