Delays and cancellations have become the norm for train passengers in Spain. Is widening its rail network to blame?
“It’s like this almost every day,” laments Paola, who is waiting for her train to go to Barcelona for work. It’s already one hour and 45 minutes late. She still doesn’t know when she will be able to leave Madrid.
“This is a huge problem. It’s okay when you have occasional delays, but when it becomes the norm, we have to ask ourselves questions.”
Like her, many Spaniards share daily on social media their mishaps and anger about the chaotic train situation across the country.
At the end of October, an overturned train and a passenger in a prohibited area blocked nearly 15,000 passengers in the two main train stations in Madrid.
In recent years, problems of all kinds have skyrocketed throughout the railway network.
Delays, breakdowns, crowds in stations, copper thefts that leave trains without service, trains stopped in tunnels, and passengers stuck for hours without water or electricity regularly make the European headlines.
“The most important problem, further than cancellations or delays, is that the quality of the service offered by the operators has deteriorated,” explains Jorge Morera from the Public Transport Promotion Association, a Spanish organisation that defends sustainable mobility through public transport.
“There are major capacity issues at stations, and there is poor management of disruption, which now affects passengers on a daily basis, even more on local and regional networks.”
Spanish national company Renfe recorded the highest number of delays in its history last year, both with its AVE high-speed services and medium-distance trains, according to a company report.
Renfe claimed many causes, including the rising demand for rail, numerous improvement works within the railway network, and issues related to competing companies.
Spain’s trains have more competition, but at what price?
Spain has a unique train situation in Europe, as three different train companies operate high-speed services.
Renfe lost its monopoly in 2021, and since then, it’s been pitted against the French state train company Ouigo España, and Iryo, which is partly owned by Italy’s Trenitalia rail firm.
In response to this increased competition, Renfe launched its own low-cost, Renfe Avlo.
“We have more trains and better prices, which is good, but there are some other things that are not good for passengers,” says Morera. “Renfe has changed its policies and reduced the compensation for disruption since this new scenario. This is not good news for passengers.”
Renfe no longer offers refunds of the full ticket price for delays of only 30 minutes. Instead, it compensates 50 per cent for delays of one hour and 100 per cent for delays beyond 90 minutes.
The drop in prices and the opening up to competition led to a huge increase in traffic and passengers.
Train travellers set a historical record in Spain last year, exceeding 665.2 million passengers, a 20 per cent increase compared to 2019, according to data from the Spanish national statistics institute (INE).
“I think the keyword is growing pains,” said Juan Montero, a professor of administrative law and economic regulation at the National Distance Education University (UNED) in Madrid.
“The transformation that was introduced by liberalisation has been a really big success for users”, he says.
“The number of trains running in the network and the number of passengers have dramatically increased. Some corridors even double. But the system still has some trouble adapting to it. Problems are, in some ways, the consequences of success,” adds Montero.
The Spanish rail network must modernise and expand
Faced with increased traffic and a lack of investment during the financial crisis, several projects are underway on the rail network, such as the transformation of the Charmartin train station in Madrid.
One goal is to double the capacity of high-speed rail and reach a total of 25 train tracks.
The project is scheduled to be completed in June 2026. Ultimately, it could increase passenger numbers up to 55 million in 2030 – up from 36 million in 2023.
But until then, the station has caused delays for both commuter and medium- and long-distance lines.
The expansion of the Barcelona Sants station faces similar challenges.
The arrival of new trains manufactured by the national company Talgo also has a share of responsibility after the network had to wait more than two years for delivery.
“These new trains caused some troubles. They were late to deliver it, and it seems that they rushed the contract a bit to furnish these trains 100 per cent ready to run,” says Juan Montero.
Renfe has blamed the manufacturer for the incidents and breakdowns of its new trains and is now claiming millions in damages.
Spain also needs to modernise its signalling system, particularly on the oldest Madrid-Sevilla line: “It is an extremely expensive and time-consuming operation,” adds Montero.
What’s the future of Spain’s railway network?
Will the Spanish rail situation improve in the long term? It’s hard to say, especially since the country’s three low-cost train operators are still expanding their activities. Rival services covering Andalusia are due to be launched next month.
“It’s true that delays are getting worse in Spain, but it’s more on a specific period. And if we compare it to other EU countries, it’s way less,” says Montero. “In France, for example, it’s not an event, it’s a constant”.
“Spain was well connected with many countries with night trains before,” adds Morera, “but since the coronavirus, these trains have decreased, and a lot of connections to Spain with France and other countries have disappeared.”
Morera hopes that efforts will also be made to consider travellers’ needs, including more intermobility and cross-border connections. That’s when the leader of Europe’s rail renaissance will truly shuttle into the future.
