▶ The second round of liberalisation in Spanish passenger rail should allow companies other than the state-owned rail incumbent carrier Renfe to operate taxpayer-subsided Public Service Obligation (PSO) trains, ranging from commuter to medium-distance services;

▶ Recently, several responses were given to a consultation on this issue that was held by Spain’s National Commission for Markets And Competition (CNMC);

▶ The demands for access to data held by Renfe which were made by the French state-owned incumbent SNCF were quite revealing, because we wonder: will SNCF provide access to the same data back home in France?

The aim must be to ensure that there are no advantages for the incumbent operator and that the procedures are fair“ responded SNCF, arguing that competitive tenders of PSOs must include rolling stock and staff – with a specific law subrogating the current Renfe workers in these services – as well as “non-discriminatory” access to maintenance facilities.

Regarding the “exhaustive list“ of data that the historical monopolist Renfe should provide before deciding whether to bid for a competitive tender, SNCF calls for: “the number of passengers in the last three years, the numbers boarding and alighting, competition by road or air, timetables, sales volume or even customer satisfaction index.”

ALLRAIL’s Aurélie Csizmazia is from France. She says “SNCF is correct in Spain, but we are also in an EU single market, where there is reciprocity. 

Therefore, will SNCF’s owner – the French government – ensure that the exactly same things that SNCF demands from Renfe are also fairly provided the other way around?! That means: to Renfe and other carriers who are currently bidding for competitive PSO contracts in France?