Renfe

Renfe, officially Renfe-Operadora, is the national passenger railway company of Spain.
It was created in 2005 upon the split of the former Spanish National Railway Network (Renfe) into the Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias (ADIF), which inherited the infrastructure, and Renfe-Operadora, which inherited the railway service.
History
The name "Renfe" (acronym of Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles) is derived from that of the former Spanish National Railway Network created on 24 January 1941 with the nationalisation of Spain's railways. As per EU Directive 91/440, Renfe was divided into Renfe Operadora (operations) and ADIF (infrastructure) on 1 January 2005. At the same time, the existing Renfe logo (nicknamed the "galleta", Spanish for biscuit), first introduced in 1971, was replaced by a dark purple lower-case wordmark designed by Interbrand. Separate logos used by the other sectors were also replaced, but the old Renfe logo remains in use in some stations in Spain and on maps to indicate an ADIF station.
The Railway Sector Act, 2003 separated the management, maintenance and construction of rail infrastructure from train operation. The first activity is now the responsibility of Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias (ADIF), while the newly created Renfe-Operadora (also known as Grupo Renfe or simply Renfe) owns the rolling stock and remains responsible for the planning, marketing and operation of the passenger and freight services.
Renfe no longer has a monopoly on domestic passenger services due to Ouigo España launching in 2021, followed by Iryo in 2022.
Structure
Renfe-Operadora inherited the management model of the old Renfe, which made Renfe-Operadora responsible for the operation of the passenger and freight services. In January 2006, Renfe-Operadora restructured the main business units into four general directorates:
Dirección General de Servicios Públicos de Cercanías y Media Distancia (General Public Utilities Directorate for Suburban and Medium Distance): responsible for commuter services (Cercanías), medium-distance high-speed rail AVE services and medium-range regional services (:es:Regionales and :es:Media Distancia). However, control of some Cercanías services were transferred to Spain's Autonomous communities.
Dirección General de Servicios de Larga Distancia (General Directorate of Long Distance Services): responsible for long-distance intercity and high-speed rail services (except medium-distance AVE services and Media Distancia, which is managed by the above business unit).
Dirección General de Servicios de Mercancías y Logística (General Directorate for Freight and Logistics Services): responsible for freight services.
Dirección General de Fabricación y Mantenimiento (General Directorate of Manufacturing and Maintenance): responsible for rolling stock maintenance and manufacture (also known as Integria)
They are currently engaged in a transformation and modernisation project. Key to this was a major overhaul of their out-dated ICT systems through an ICT renewal project completed at the end of 2010 under the responsibility of Corporate Director of Information Systems Óscar Gómez Barbero. It introduced improvements how tickets could be bought online and adopted new ICT management practices within a "more industrial" organisational model, though Gomez publicly acknowledged the difficulties in transforming what remained a very hierarchical organisation.
In June 2013, Renfe's board agreed to restructure the organisation into four separate companies, responsible for:
Operating passenger trains;
Freight;
Rolling stock maintenance;
Train leasing.
The four companies would be grouped under a single holding company.
Figures
Operations
The company operates some of railways, of them electrified. Most of the tracks are constructed to the broadIberian gauge of , the same as that used in Portugal but wider than the international gauge of which is standard in most of the rest of the world. The newer high-speed (AVE) network has been built to the international standard gauge of for the connection to the rest of the European railway system. For this reason, the gauge is generally termed "European gauge" in Spain.
Construction of a high-speed rail line between Madrid and Seville began in 1988 and began operations in 1991, going . The second high-speed rail line (Madrid to Barcelona) was completed in 2007 with the inaugural service commencing on 20 February 2008. The operational speed on this route is . The greater part of the line (Madrid to Lleida) was entered service on 11 October 2003, with a connection to Huesca from Zaragoza. The third high-speed line (Madrid to Toledo) was opened in November 2005, followed by a spur from Córdoba to Málaga as far as Antequera in 2007. Another high-speed route from Madrid to Valladolid was opened in 2007. A line from Madrid to Valencia was opened in 2010, and the first stage of a high-speed line in Galicia opened in 2011. A line to Lisbon is being designed.
Other lines operated by Renfe include Euromed, a moderate-speed line between Barcelona and Alicante.
In addition to intercity transport, Renfe operates commuter train systems, known as Cercanías (or Rodalies in Catalonia and Cercanías-Aldirikoak in the Basque Country), in eleven metropolitan areas, including Madrid and Barcelona. In some cities, Renfe shares the market with other commuter railway operators, such as FGC.
In 2019, Renfe solicited bids for 31 new trains for the Asturias and Cantabria regions and the €258m contract was awarded to the CAF (Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles) in June 2020. Around February 2023, authorities discovered the designs were for the wrong loading gauge and would be too wide for the tunnels. Amidst international embarrassment, Renfe and ADIF each tried to deflect responsibility, and some called for the firing of the executives deemed responsible. Fortunately, the trains were still being designed, however the Cercanía commuter trains will be delayed until 2026. Subsequently, transport officials including the president of Renfe and the Secretary of State for Transport resigned.
Passenger rolling stock
Renfe-Operadora utilises the following rolling stock and commercial products inside of its two divisions:
Suburban and Medium Distance (DGSPCMD)
Cercanías AM (Meter Gauge Commuter Services)
Cercanías (Commuter Services)
Mainline Medium Distance Services
High-Speed Medium Distance Services
Long Distance (DGSLD)
Luxury Tourist Train Services
Mainline Long Distance Services
High-Speed Long Distance Services
Prototype Rolling Stock
Future Rolling Stock
Vehicles register numbers
All classes are designated by three numbers. The first digit has a special meaning:
1xx: High speed multiple unit
2xx: Electric locomotive
3xx: Diesel locomotive
4xx: Electric multiple unit (EMU)
5xx: Diesel multiple unit (DMU)
6xx: Hybrid locomotive
7xx: Hybrid multiple unit (HMU)
8xx: Trams which can run on railways
See also
Renfe Feve
History of rail transport in Spain
Rail transport in Spain
Transport in Spain
Madrid, Zaragoza and Alicante railway
Notes
1.Operated by CP in Portugal.
2.Managed by Elipsos under the brand Renfe-SNCF en Cooperación/en Coopération.
References
External links
Train tickets from France and Spain
Railway companies of Spain
Companies based in the Community of Madrid
Government-owned companies of Spain
Spanish brands
Spanish companies established in 2005
Railway companies established in 2005