workshops

Renfe trusted in Justice to prevent Iryo from using its workshops. Your last hope just faded away

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Renfe will have to open its workshops to Iryo. At least for now. This is what the National Court has decided, rejecting the very precautionary measures requested by Renfe with which it intended to close the Italian company’s access to its space. Of course, the judicial procedure continues, so it is not at all clear what will end up happening in the medium term. No. This is what the National Court has determined. It does not accept the very precautionary measures requested by Renfe to prevent Iryo from using its facilities to carry out its own heavy maintenance activities at its facilities, they point out in The Economist. The National Court sides with the CNMC, at least for now, in the battle that Renfe maintains against Iryo and the regulators. However, the procedure continues and Justice will have to confirm whether, in the future, Renfe must keep its facilities open to rivals. The CNMC. This first decision of the court reaffirms the position of the CNMC, which claims to be allowing all the protagonists of this film to operate under equal conditions. Cani Fernández, president of the CNMC, defended the position of the regulators, arguing that “the CNMC has to guarantee access to the market under equal conditions,” in words reported by He Northern Castile. Since the conflict beganthe CNMC has sided with Iryo and demands that Renfe open its workshops so that the Italian company can carry out maintenance work on its trains. They point out that if Iryo has to send its trains to Italy, it would lose them for weeks and put it at a disadvantage in the market. The other alternative, that scheduled maintenance is not carried out, is not logically viable either. What Renfe says. For its part, Renfe believes that give access to Iryo to carry out the activities that have already been advanced to them has no place within the competitive framework that the Spanish company and the rest of its rivals had given themselves. Renfe does not avoid its obligation to have to lend its facilities to Iryo and Ouigo but remember that this is only the case for light maintenance tasks. However, they allege, Iryo has requested to be able to carry out its own heavy maintenance activities. This, according to Renfe, would have direct consequences on its offer because its facilities are already working at full capacity. The company assures that if it gives entry to the Italian company will suffer the following consequences: Remove 1.2 million seats from its offer due to not being able to maintain its own trains Of those seats, one million would correspond to the offer offered as a public service Loss of 60 million euros in income What Iryo says. In its allegations, Renfe points out that Iryo’s activities would occupy 10% of the La Sagra facilities, where its Comprehensive Maintenance Base is located. Iryo reduces this figure to 7% and points out that it would not be too much of a problem since they are activities that can be scheduled based on the mileage of the trains. They emphasize that if Renfe does not give them access to their workshops they will have to take them to Rome and that this implies leaving them out of circulation for up to two months, a situation that they consider unfair. The company has not made any comment on the possibility of setting up its own workshops in Spain, just as promised upon arrival. They complain. The latter does not convince Renfe that she feels aggrieved in this fight. Back in the day, he discovered that Ouigo was carrying out heavy unscheduled maintenance work in his workshops. Now they believe that giving Iryo access to act in the same way is not fair because it is not specified or by the Directive 2012/34/EU (RECAST) on the single railway space nor the standard EN 15380-4:2021 Spanish. Faced with the first decision of the CNMC, Renfe responded by closing the door and putting forward its reasons but the organization stood firmand. The next thing was to appeal the decision to the National Court requesting very precautionary measures but these, as we say, have been rejected. At the moment, Justice forces the workshops to open but the procedure continues to decide whether, in the medium term, Renfe, Iryo and Ouigo must maintain this same balancing act or if the Spanish company can close the door on them. Photo | Renfe and Iryo In Xataka | There is a fight between the railway operators to get the best drivers and Renfe is winning it

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

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

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

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

Work absenteeism in ITV workshops has skyrocketed in some autonomous communities. The solution: private detectives

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The public company SITVAL, in charge of managing technical inspections of vehicles in the Valencian Community, has put out to tender a contract of 140,000 euros to hire detective agencies to investigate possible unjustified absences, incompatible activities or fraudulent situations among its staff. Just like inform from El Español, the measure seeks to tackle an absenteeism problem that has skyrocketed since the ITVs went under public management in February 2023. The underlying problem. Since Ximo Puig’s Government reverted service to the public sector, work absenteeism in Valencian stations has skyrocketed to between 16% and 18% on average, according to share the middle. The figure doubles the regional average for absenteeism in the community, which stands at 6.4%, and is well above the national 7%. The result is a collapsed service with waits exceeding eight weeks for heavy vehicles, according to the Valencian Federation of Transport and Logistics Entrepreneurs (FVET). What will the detectives do? The contract, published On October 27 on the Public Sector Contracting Platform, it commissioned the agencies to observe, monitor and prepare documentary and audiovisual reports on SITVAL personnel. Just like share El Español, detectives must collect truthful information about possible unjustified absences and, if necessary, appear before administrative or judicial bodies to ratify their reports. The contract is divided into three lots, one for each Valencian province, with an execution period of two years. It is not an isolated case. The Valencian Generalitat is not the first administration that uses private investigation services to control absenteeism in public ITVs. The Government of Andalusia launched a similar service in August of last year, divided into two lots for the western and eastern areas of the community. Consequences. The middle emphasize That the reversal of the service, which occurred three months before the 2023 regional elections, has generated an unexpected effect: the massive relocation of inspections. According to data Officially, in 2024 a total of 291,662 vehicles chose to pass the ITV in other autonomous communities such as Murcia, Castilla-La Mancha or Tarragona, which means less income compared to the 2,332,087 inspections that were carried out in 2022. Qresion in it transportation sector. The situation has led the Valencian Federation of Transport and Logistics Entrepreneurs (FVET) to announce the departure of its presidentCarlos Prades, from the board of directors of SITVAL at the end of October. “We pay more than in other communities for a less efficient, slower service that generates uncertainty,” denounced Prades, who added that “Valencian stations are no longer a real option for many companies.” The figures don’t add up. Puig’s Government justified the transition to public management arguing that it could generate up to 40 million euros per year in operating income for the Generalitat, compared to the 7 million euros paid by private concessionaires together. Although it seems that the forecasts have not taken into account the impact of absenteeism, the drop in inspections carried out or additional costs such as this investigation services contract. Cover image | FVET In Xataka | Yes, there is a way to check if the V-16 beacon is working correctly. And you are not going to alert the DGT or the emergencies about it.

The fight between Ouigo and Renfe goes far beyond the price war. The last battlefield: the workshops

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Beyond the corridors and the prices proposed by the different companies, the battle between Ouigo and Renfe seems to have no limits. Competitors in Spanish high speed are intensifying their crashes. The last: the use of workshops. But the last crash is by no means the only one. The workshops. The information is brought Chain Being. The media outlet claims to have had access to internal documents in which Renfe accuses Ouigo of carrying out maintenance operations that exceed the marked limits. From Chain Being They point out that Renfe understands that Ouigo is carrying out work that is not permitted in space. The Spanish company understands that the type of repairs carried out there are contrary to the signed agreements and current regulations. It must be taken into account that, for its maintenance operations, Ouigo uses Renfe workshops under a rental contract. However, the contract does not allow any type of activity to be carried out there. Heavy or light. That is, according to the media, the key. Renfe understands that Ouigo is carrying out heavy maintenance work at its facilities, which is not supposed to be allowed. According to the Railway Sector Law, Renfe is obliged to allow access to its facilities (even if it charges for it) so that other companies can carry out light maintenance such as cleaning the vehicles or minor repairs. Renfe assures that the Alstom-Ateinsa workers, whom Ouigo hires to carry out this maintenance, are carrying out heavy maintenance tasks such as replacing parts, fixing breakdowns or changing wiring, always depending on the medium. This contravenes the signed agreements since Renfe would not be obliged to provide said service in its facilities. But, yes, the problem is that the regulations do not clearly specify what is or is not “heavy maintenance.” The problem is that everything is a gray area. The Directive 2012/34/EU on the single railway space, all non-routine activities are classified as heavy maintenance. However the standard EN 15380-4:2021 understands that heavy maintenance will only be understood if parts of the train have to be dismantled. Viability. In Xataka We have contacted both companies but, so far, we have not received a response. What they point out in the radio is that Ouigo assures that denying them access to the workshops would imply that they would not be able to provide the service adequately and, therefore, their two-year viability plan would be at risk. Ouigo points out that they are only doing work on “greasing and controlling levels, leaks and temperatures in the pit”, in words that would be included in the documents. For Renfe this exceeds light maintenance but Ouigo defends that they are within the regulations. The alternative presented by Renfe, according to the documentation, is that Ouigo carries out these actions in its workshops but pays for them accordingly, hiring auxiliary services to be able to carry them out. Beyond the tracks. What is at stake between Ouigo and Renfe goes beyond the typical price war that we see on the roads and corridors. Both companies have clashed over the prices offered by each other but also over the access that Renfe has to the most central stationslike that of Atocha. And not only in Spain. Renfe has tried to return the move in France but has been complaining for some time that there land they are putting all possible suits on the wheels to prevent them from competing on French soil. On this occasion, the problem would lie in Renfe’s technical compliance to be able to operate on French roads. Photo | Ouigo and Renfe In Xataka | In the 19th century, Spain made the strange decision to build its roads in Iberian gauge. Now they are going to be a gift for Renfe in Galicia

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