Opinion: Spanish Railways' International Ambitions
By The ERT Editorial Team
The Spanish press recently reported that Spanish Railways (RENFE) was considering stopping all cross-border operations, only for a further announcement to rapidly follow that it was instead
entering a "phase of reflection".
RENFE’s first foray outside the Iberian peninsula dates back to June 1969, when it launched the Catalan Talgo, a daytime service between Barcelona and Geneve that took nine hours each way. There was even a connection offered in Avignon for journeys to and from Milano, giving one-change service between Catalonia and Lombardy, something that is much needed today.
This ground-breaking venture, made possible by Talgo’s gauge changing technology, soon expanded to include night trains from Madrid and Barcelona to Paris in collaboration with French Railways (SNCF), as well as connections to Milano and destinations in Switzerland. At one stage RENFE even offered a limited winter service from Barcelona to the French Alps.
However, as overnight rail services fell out of favour across Europe, these routes were gradually discontinued. In their place came a new joint venture with SNCF, marked by a modern twice-daily TGV service between Paris and Barcelona, alongside RENFE’s own offerings to Lyon and Marseille using its S-100 sets.
This partnership dissolved in 2021, when SNCF entered RENFE’s most profitable domestic route – Madrid to Barcelona – with its budget Ouigo brand. In response, RENFE announced its own plans to launch services to Paris in time for the 2024 Olympics, using the new Talgo Avril series 106 trains, as well as re-establishing direct services to Lyon and Marseille independently.
Unfortunately, persistent production issues at Talgo, compounded by uncertainties around ownership, have delayed certification of the Avril trains that were supposed to be deployed in France until at least 2028. In the meantime, the limited offering of just two daily services from Catalonia to France has proven unsustainable, contributing to the RENFE Groups’ substantial losses – 123 million in 2023 and a further 23 million in 2024.
Meanwhile, Spain’s push for greater competition on its railways has certainly benefited consumers. Yet, if French media reports are accurate, SNCF itself incurred a 45 million loss in 2024 from its efforts to gain a foothold in the Spanish market – though this is almost certainly negligible for a company that posted 1.6 billion in profits the same year.
Looking abroad, RENFE has sought to emulate the successful expansion strategies of its European counterparts by acquiring a 33% stake in Italy-based Arenaways and a 51% share in Czech operator Leo Express. Though it is still early days, these international investments do not appear, perhaps unsurprisingly, to be yielding encouraging results.
Given the mounting pressure from SNCF and Trenitalia, both of which have successfully siphoned traffic from RENFE’s domestic long-distance routes, it would not be surprising if the Spanish operator opts to retreat from international markets and refocus on its domestic base, where there is political pressure to resolve issues with the Madrid and Barcelona suburban networks.
The story of RENFE’s international ambitions act as a reminder that, even in an era of open borders and shared infrastructure, railways remain deeply shaped by national interests, so expansion is far from easy. Let us hope that RENFE’s board are sufficiently adept to ignore the short term wishes of their political masters and stay the course of being an international open-access operator.
Aberdeen to Penzance - The UK's Longest Train Journey
Part 2: The Journey
By Graham Benbow
Having arrived in Aberdeen the previous day at about 20:30, having taken the opportunity to tick off 4 new stations; Stonehaven, Inverurie, Dyce and Aberdeen itself, I checked into the Travelodge, visited the “Spoons” for my evening meal and a couple of beers and explored a little of the Granite City.
I was up early the next morning as I wanted to squeeze a cheeky visit to Kintore station. Departing 06:14, I was back by 06:47 giving me time for breakfast.
I’ve got to say I was somewhat underwhelmed by the exterior of Aberdeen Station, being a part of a shopping mall, whose name is now a distant memory. Luckily, when you get inside the station it’s far more impressive.
As I mentioned last week, I had booked a 1st class ticket, seat 26, coach A. I was under the illusion that I had booked an airline style single seat, but found I had an aisle seat on a table of four. Oh dear, I’m going to have to make small talk for 13 hours with complete strangers; at least it was an aisle seat giving me more leg room.
It took me awhile to unpack my stuff and arrange everything, and then I remembered that Reuben (ERT Deputy Editor) had asked me to post photos of my journey on social media so whilst I was working out how to do this we had already called at Stonehaven and Montrose, so I was already behind two stations behind.
Arriving at Arbroath, (09:12), I exited the train and met Tommy, a very enthusiastic Scot who lives in Inverkeithing, and worked at the station before retirement, his claim to fame was appearing in one of Geoff Marshall’s “All the Stations” videos. From that point onwards we met on the Platform at each stop, exchanged tales before returning to our seats. Tommy had travelled up the day before with his wife, Mrs Tommy, who was due to depart at Inverkeithing. I noticed that Tommy ended up in most of my photos!
On returning to my seat, I broke the ice with the lady sitting next to me. As she was knitting, I asked “Are you travelling all the way.” ‘Yes” she replied. “I expect you’ll have that finished by the end of the journey”, and that was it, the ice broken. Sue and Ian (who had done this journey in previously in 2018 and had also appeared in a Geoff Marshall video) had also come up the night before from Kempston Hardwick by plane from Luton. They both proved to be excellent company for the journey and what with the frequency of the stops and the jumping off and on the train, talking to Tommy the whole affair had the atmosphere of a holiday, and the journey certainly went very quickly.
The train was made up of five coaches, the 1st Class coach was full most of the journey only thinning out when we arrived at Plymouth. I walked through the entire length of the train shortly before arriving at Sheffield (14:55), whilst there were passengers in the vestibules and extended luggage area, there was generally enough seats remaining in standard class to accommodate these passengers. I would estimate that the train at this stage was at 98% of seating capacity. There were several people making the full trip, and I expect CrossCountry have benefitted from additional income from this source and will continue to do so until the last journey is made on May 16.
The train kept very good time, losing and regaining no more than 2 minutes all the way to Bristol Parkway where we arrived on time. The stretch on to Temple Meads saw us lose ten minutes but was absorbed by the in-built 14-minute dwell time. Having departed promptly, we got stuck behind a late running GWR Taunton bound train which saw the delay creep up again to 12 minutes as we left Taunton but was slowly clawed back by the time we arrived at Plymouth departing only 2 minutes late, which increased another minute thus arriving at Penzance at 21:34.
This was the first time I have travelled on a full-length Cross-Country service, generally I only use them for short trips, and I’ve found them dirty, worn-out, unloved, crowded and frankly uncomfortable, but this Voyager (221120) was in pretty good nick. In 1st Class the seats a slightly more comfortable, I also benefited from bringing my Fortem Office Chair Cushion (this was especially the case on my 7 hour trip from London to Aberdeen the previous day, where the seats on those Azuma’s are very uncomfortable with a metal bar running through the seat.
The train staff were friendly and efficient, ensuring passengers got off and on the train promptly, especially as those doing the whole trip who had a tendency to bundle off to take photos etc , and occasionally required a stern prompt from the despatcher to get back on!
The 1st class offering was pretty good with the steward /stewardess always checking if anybody needed a drink or a snack. Personally, I had a bacon roll on boarding, a tuna salad roll at lunch time and various, biscuits, crisps and cake washed down with cups of tea throughout the journey until Bristol Temple Meads when the catering service finished. There was also a catering trolley which turned up in 1st class for the sale of alcohol. The steward / stewardess and catering trolley staff were particularly friendly and jolly.
For me “the through the window highlights” where the Tay Bridge, the Forth Bridge, The Royal Border Bridge, the Northumberland coast line in particular the distant views of Lindisfarne, Alnmouth, crossing the Tyne, the Angel of the North, views of Durham, the countryside as we crossed Gloucestershire and Somerset and into Devon, the Exe estuary, the Dawlish coastline, and crossing the Royal Albert Bridge.
So, what about the fourth passenger on our table of four, he journeyed to Plymouth, never engaged in conversation with us, spending time on the phone or reading his book, although on leaving us he wished us luck and goodbye.
My fear of missing the Night Riveira Sleeper were ill-founded having plenty of time to make the transfer, which actually departed at 21:50. To finish the day off I visited the bar for a couple of beers, more cake and crisps and then retired to my cabin.
As for the toilets, they held up pretty well, especially as they were cleaned mid-way through the journey.
Aberdeen to Penzance - The UK's Longest Train Journey
Part 1: The Plan!
By Graham Benbow
“I enjoy travelling by train, especially long journeys, so the chance to complete this trip was a must before it makes its last journey in May'" said Graham. "I quickly got into planning mode as I had to firstly get to Aberdeen and then return from Penzance. I came up with the following itinerary after considering my options including whether I stayed overnight in Penzance or came straight back home. As the Night Riviera Sleeper was cheaper than an overnight stay, and given it would avoid the extra cost of the journey home the following day, it was a no brainer. The main potential problem, having booked my tickets, was that the Aberdeen train is scheduled to arrive at 2131, and the Sleeper departs at 2145, but I do have the option of alighting at St Erth or Redruth should we be running more than 10 minutes late as the Sleeper stops at these two stations at 2153 and 2213 respectively”.
“I've been watching the performance of both the Cross Country and Night Riviera services and to be fair to the Cross Country service it keeps considerably good time, generally arriving on time and occasionally even early, but always with enough time to get from platform 4 to platform 1. However, when it's late, it tends to be very late!”
The Itinerary:
|
Sunday April 27 |
Monday April 28 |
Tuesday April 29 |
|||
|
Station |
Time |
Station |
Time |
Station |
Time |
|
Depart home walk to station |
d. 0800 |
*Aberdeen |
d. 0614 |
Paddington |
a. 0504 |
|
Falconwood |
a. 0813 |
*Kintore |
a. 0631 |
d. 0545 |
|
|
d. 0822 |
d. 0647 |
London Bridge |
a. 0559 |
||
|
London Bridge |
a. 0848 |
Aberdeen |
a. 0706 |
d. 0610 |
|
|
d. 0902 |
d. 0820 |
Lewisham |
a. 0618 |
||
|
Kings Cross |
a. 0912 |
Penzance |
a. 2131 |
d. 0626 |
|
|
d. 1000 |
d. 2145 |
Falconwood |
a. 0639 |
||
|
*Stonehaven |
a. 1649 |
Walk Home |
a. 0652 |
||
|
d. 1712 |
|||||
|
Aberdeen |
a. 1730 |
||||
|
d. 1800 |
|||||
|
*Inverurie |
a. 1823 |
||||
|
d. 1851 |
|||||
|
*Dyce |
a. 1905 |
||||
|
Bus |
d. 1948 |
||||
|
Aberdeen Bus Station |
a. 2025 |
||||
“Oh yes, I’m using the opportunity to visit a few new stations on my quest to visit all the stations in England, Scotland and Wales and the five starred above will be station numbers 2246, 2247, 2248, 2249, 2250.”
“So how much is this little trip costing? Excluding the station hopping and that fact that I have a freedom pass to get me to and back from London, I paid £52.50 for an Advance ticket Kings Cross to Aberdeen, £168.95 for an Advance 1st Class single Aberdeen to Penzance, £57.70 for a Super Off-Peak Single Penzance to London Terminals plus GWR Single Cabin supplement of £79.00. My overnight stay at the Aberdeen Travelodge is £25.99. Currently a 1st class anytime ticket between Aberdeen and Penzance is £313.45.”
“I could have purchased a standard class advance ticket on Cross Country with split ticketing for about £45.00, but given the nature of Cross Country trains, with short formations, often being very busy (standing being common), I didn’t think it would be very comfortable to travel that way on such a long journey, not to mention the need to change seats at each split. I therefore went for a bit of comfort, well as much as you can on a Cross Country service, more leg room, more comfort and space, at seat complimentary service, but I’m not holding my breath!”
“So, what are my concerns? What happens if the train is cancelled whilst I’m in Aberdeen, what happens if I miss the sleeper? Dehydration, leg cramp and a sore bum. The service does dwell at Edinburgh 16 minutes, Birmingham New Street 8 minutes, Bristol Temple Meads 14 minutes where I can stretch my legs, plus lots of other stops for 2 or 3 minutes. Apparently the train spends over two hours in total during station calls. But my biggest concern is the state of the toilets - say no more!”
Opinion: Trenitalia Expansion
By The ERT Editorial Team
Tucked away near the bottom of Trenitalia’s recent announcement about restarting services between Paris and Milan via Modane was a significant piece of news: the company is launching four daily trains between Paris and Marseille.
Far from being a minor detail, this expansion underscores Trenitalia’s bold ambitions in the European rail market. In France, the Italian state-owned operator is positioning itself as a formidable competitor to SNCF, challenging its dominance on key high-speed routes. With its services to Milan and Marseille, Trenitalia is not only enhancing connectivity but also reshaping the competitive landscape of Western European rail travel.
The company now has nine of its flagship Frecciarossa 1000 trains authorised for operation in France, with two daily departures between Paris and Milan set to commence as soon as the Fréjus rail tunnel reopens at the end of March.
What makes Trenitalia’s strategy particularly intriguing is its potential to integrate services across Spain, Italy, and France. Through its Spanish subsidiary Iryo, it already competes with Renfe in the high-speed market. If Trenitalia succeeds in linking its Spanish, Italian, and French operations, it could create a seamless rail corridor stretching across southern Europe.
A glimpse of this strategy can be seen in its subsidiary Treni Turistici Italiani, which has announced four weekly summer services from Milan to Nice and St Tropez. (As St Tropez lacks a railway station, the service may terminate at St Raphaël—or perhaps even continue to Marseille, as Trenitalia’s now-defunct subsidiary Thello once did.)
Meanwhile, reports suggest that Trenitalia will extend its network further east to Slovenia this summer, and plans have also been announced for expansion into the Netherlands in the future.
In theory, Trenitalia’s rapid growth in France reflects a broader trend toward liberalisation and increased competition in European rail travel.
In practice, however, competition has largely taken the form of one state-owned operator encroaching on another’s most profitable routes. With few exceptions, true market-driven competition remains elusive.
One wonders how taxpayers in one country feel about subsidising lower fares for passengers in another - an inevitable consequence of state-backed operators vying for market share across borders.
For those interested in the intricacies of timetables:
The Paris to Marseilles route will be operated by Trenitalia’s Frecciarossa 1000 trains with planned departure times from Paris at 0555, 1115,1426 and 1904, returning from Marseille at 0652, 0953, 1540 and 1849. Services will start on 15th June and stop at Lyon St Exupéry, Avignon TGV and Aix en Provence TGV. Journey time will be around 3 hours and 20 minutes.
We understand that as of 15th June, Trenitalia will operate a Frecciarossa 1000 between Milano Centrale and Ljubljana, leaving at 1515 as EC 139 and returning at 0655 as EC 136.