RENFE

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

A new Cercanías Civia unit near Puerto Real (Cádiz)

AVE Class 100 train at Cordoba station

Renfe Operadora is the state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains on the 1668-mm "Iberian gauge" and 1435-mm "European gauge" networks of the Spanish national railway infrastructure company ADIF (Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias).

[edit] History

Further information: History of rail transport in Spain

The name RENFE is derived from that of the former Spanish National Railway Network, RENFE (Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles) created on 24 January 1941 with the nationalization 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 double-arrowed logo (nicknamed the "galleta", Spanish for biscuit), first introduced in 1971 and facelifted in 1983, with a sans-serif font and again in 2000, with a mixed case italic font, has been replaced by a dark purple lower-case wordmark designed by Interbrand, and also replaces some of the separate logos used by the other sectors, although the old RENFE logo remains in use in some stations in Spain and on maps to indicate a RENFE station.

The Railway Sector Act of 2003 separated the management, maintenance and construction of rail infrastructure from train operation. The first activity is now the responsibility of a new public company, Administrador de Infrestructuras Ferroviarias (ADIF), while Renfe (full name: Renfe Operadora) owns the rolling-stock and remains responsible for the planning, marketing and operation of passenger and freight services (though no longer with a legal monopoly).

Renfe Operadora inherited the management model of the business units of the old RENFE, which made Renfe Operadora responsible for the operation of the following passenger and freight services. In January 2006, Renfe Operadora restructured the main business units into four:

Dirección General de Servicios Públicos de Cercanías y Media Distancia: responsible for commuter services (Cercanías), medium-distance high-speed rail AVE services and medium-range regional services (Regionales and Media Distancia). However, control of some Cercanías services are transferred to Spain's Autonomous communities.
Dirección General de Servicios de Larga Distancia: 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: responsible for freight services.
Dirección General de Fabricación y Mantenimiento: responsible for rolling stock maintenance and manufacture (also known as Integria)

The Spanish State railways are currently engaged in a major transformation and modernisation process to keep up with the liberalisation of railway transportation elsewhere in Europe. Key to this effort is a major overhaul of their dated ICT (information and communication technology) systems through an ICT renewal project scheduled for completion at the end of 2010 under the responsibility of Corporate Director of Information Systems Oscar Gomez Barbero. So far the company has introduced improvements to their internet ticket sales and adopted new ICT management practices within a "more industrial" organisational model, though Mr Gomez has publicly acknowledged the difficulties in transforming what still remains a very hierarchical organisation.

[edit] Operations

Map of the Spanish rail network as it was in 2005, with colour-coded track types. Renfe Operadora operates in broad and standard gauge lines.

The company operates some 15,000 km of railways, most of which are constructed to the broad "Iberian" gauge of 1668 mm, the same as that used in Portugal but wider than the gauge of 1435 mm which is standard in France and most of western and central Europe. The newer high-speed (AVE) network, however, has been built to the international standard gauge of 1435 mm gauge in anticipation of its eventual connection to the rest of the European railway system. For this reason, the 1435-mm gauge is generally termed "European gauge" in Spain.

The Spanish high-speed system is called AVE. (Alta Velocidad Española, Spanish High Speed). The logo incorporates a feature which resembles a bird (ave in Spanish). The high-speed lines are built to the standard European gauge (1435 mm).

Construction of the high-speed rail line between Madrid and Seville began in 1988 and operation commenced in 1991. Train speed on the Seville line is 300 km/h. The second high-speed rail line, from Madrid to Barcelona, was completed in 2007 with the inaugural service commencing at 6 am February 20, 2008. The operational speed on this road is 350 km/h. The greater part of the line, from Madrid to Lleida, was put in service on October 11, 2003, with connection to Huesca from Zaragoza. The third high-speed line, Madrid - Toledo was opened in November 2005, followed by the spur from Córdoba to Málaga as far as Antequera in 2007. Another high-speed route from Madrid to Valladolid was opened in 2007, and other lines to Valencia and Lisbon are being designed. The route Madrid-Galicia is under construction between the major Galician cities.

Other lines operated by Renfe include Alaris, a moderate-speed line between Madrid and Valencia.

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. The former was targeted in the March 11, 2004 Madrid train bombings. While the latter and some of the regional trains going to Barcelona have been without service since 20 October 2007. In some cities Renfe shares the market with other commuter railway operators, such as FGC in Barcelona.

[edit] Ticketing procedures

The Grandes Líneas (inter-city) division of Renfe operates a rather peculiar ticketing system when compared to industry norms. Any reservation by telephone or internet is allocated a "localizador" or booking reference. This is a code that simply acts as a reference to the reservation and does not substitute a normal paper ticket. A passenger is allowed to board an inter-city train with your "localizador", however, if the passenger misses the train, the entire booking is invalidated, including the return ticket. Numerous unsuspecting passengers have had the unpleasant experience of being forced to purchase an additional ticket (often only expensive 1st class remains available) for the return journey, having missed their outbound train.^[1] Many passengers reasonably assume that the booking reference is confirmation of your seat, however, this appears not to be the case.

The RENFE website also appears to charge more than double for those booking in English as opposed to Spanish. ^[2]

[edit] Passenger rolling stock

Renfe Operadora counts on the following rolling stock and commercial products inside of its two divisions that contain services of travellers:

[edit] D.G.S.P. Cercanías y Media Distancia

Renfe 446 EMU in Bilbao.

Cercanías:

RENFE Class 440 EMU
RENFE Class 440R EMU
RENFE Class 442 EMU
RENFE Class 446 EMU
RENFE Class 447 EMU
RENFE Class 450 EMU
RENFE Class 451 EMU
RENFE Civia (RENFE Class 462, 463, 464 and 465) EMU
RENFE Class 592 DMU

Media Distancia:

RENFE Class 432 EMU
RENFE Class 440 EMU
RENFE Class 470 EMU
RENFE Class 444 EMU
RENFE Class 448 EMU
RENFE Class 592 DMU
RENFE Class 593 DMU
RENFE Class 594 DMU
RENFE Class 596 DMU
RENFE Class 598 DMU
RENFE Class 104 EMU
RENFE Class 130 EMU

[edit] D.G.S.P. Larga Distancia

**Grandes Líneas services and Largo recorrido**
Service	Rolling stock	Route(s)
Conventional RENFE traditional services, with conventional rolling stock
Diurno	Locomotive + Passenger cars	Basque Country <> Galicia / Salamanca
Estrella	Locomotive + sleeper cars	Atlántico Costa Brava Galicia Pío Baroja Picasso Sudexpress/Surex
With the disappearance of the steam and the generalization of electric trains and diesel, some have improved their rolling stock whilst others originally conserve the original rolling stock for the service.
Alaris	RENFE Class 490	Madrid <> Valencia Madrid <> Castellón Madrid <> Gandía Madrid <> Oropesa de Mar Barcelona <> Valencia Barcelona <> Alicante
Altaria	Locomotive + Talgo cars IV/VI/VII	Madrid <> Cádiz Madrid <> Huelva Madrid <> Algeciras Madrid <> Granada Madrid <> Alicante Madrid <> Cartagena Madrid <> Murcia
Alvia	RENFE Class 120	Madrid <> Pamplona Madrid <> Logroño Madrid <> Hendaya Madrid <> Irún Barcelona <> Vigo
Alvia	RENFE Class 130	Madrid <> Alicante Madrid-Puerta de Atocha <> Barcelona-Sants Barcelona-Sants <> Málaga-Mª Zambrano Barcelona-Sants <> Zaragoza-Delicias Barcelona-Sants <> Sevilla-Santa Justa
Arco	Locomotive + conventional passenger cars refitted for 200 km/h operation	García Lorca Barcelona <> Extremadura/Andalucía
AVE	RENFE Class 100	Madrid-Puerta de Atocha <> Sevilla-Santa Justa
	RENFE Class 102	Madrid-Puerta de Atocha <> Huesca Madrid-Puerta de Atocha <> Zaragoza-Delicias] Estación de Madrid-Chamartín <> Valladolid-Campo Grande Madrid-Puerta de Atocha <> Málaga-Mª Zambrano
	RENFE Class 103	Madrid-Puerta de Atocha <> Barcelona-Sants Barcelona-Sants <> Málaga-Mª Zambrano Barcelona-Sants <> Zaragoza-Delicias Barcelona-Sants <> Sevilla-Santa Justa
Euromed	RENFE Class 101	Barcelona <> Valencia <> Alicante
Intercity	RENFE Class 448	Madrid-Chamartín <> Hendaya
Talgo	Locomotive + Talgo cars III/III-RD/IV/VI/VII	Catalán Talgo Barcelona <> Montpellier Covadonga/Finisterre Barcelona <> Galicia/Gijón Mare Nostrum Cartagena <> Montpellier Miguel de Unamuno Barcelona <> País Vasco/Salamanca Barcelona <> Lorca Barcelona <> Murcia Madrid <> Galicia Alicante <> Galicia Madrid <> Almería Madrid <> Badajoz Madrid <> Bilbao
Trenhotel	Locomotive + Talgo cars and sleeper cars	Antonio Machado Francisco de Goya Gibralfaro Joan Miró Pau Casals Rías Gallegas Salvador Dalí