2024-09-24 09:34:24
The Spanish government on Tuesday accused French authorities of slowing down the arrival in Paris of trains from its national operator Renfe, once again denouncing a lack of “reciprocity” from Paris in terms of liberalisation of the rail market.
« It is clear to everyone that France is doing everything it can to prevent a real liberalisation process on its market. This means that we are playing by different rules. “, denounces the Minister of Transport Oscar Puente in an interview with the daily newspaper El Pais.
When are the connections with Paris?
« This is why I am skeptical about the possibility “that Renfe trains can provide connections with Paris” before December, or even that we are there in 2025 “, continues Mr. Puente, a socialist close to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
As part of the liberalisation of European rail, Renfe launched direct high-speed links between Barcelona and Lyon and then Madrid and Marseille in July 2023. It has thus become the second foreign operator to compete with SNCF, after Trenitalia since 2021.
The stated objective was then to be able to run trains between Spain and Paris in the summer of 2024, for the Olympic Games. Renfe, which bought around thirty trains from the Spanish manufacturer Talgo for this purpose, has since revised this objective, mentioning an arrival in December.
Ouigo has shaken up the Spanish rail market
SNCF has been operating on the Spanish market, via its subsidiary Ouigo, since spring 2021. These low-cost trains serve Barcelona (northeast), Valencia and Alicante (east) and Valladolid (center). Connections with Andalusia (south) are also due to be launched in the fall.
The arrival of Ouigo – which was followed at the end of 2022 by the launch of a third company, Iryo, on the Spanish network – has shaken up the rail market in the country, leading to sharp price reductions and an increase in passenger numbers on the routes concerned.
But it has caused serious tensions with Madrid, for whom Paris is not playing the competition game in return. These criticisms have been rejected by France, which cited problems with the approval of non-compliant rolling stock and signalling to justify these delays.
« This is one of the problems with rail liberalisation: there was no reciprocity. “, insists Oscar Puente in his interview, who has also been denouncing Ouigo’s pricing policy for several months, accused of selling its tickets at a loss to increase its market share in Spain.
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