TRAIN passengers travelling on high-speed services run by Spain’s state-owned railway operator will now be able to claim compensation if their journey is delayed by just 15 minutes.
From the start of next year, passengers on Renfe services will now be eligible for a 50 percent refund of their ticket price if the train arrives 15 minutes or more late, increasing to a full refund if the delay is over half an hour.
The move comes after an amendment to the Sustainable Mobility Law proposed by the conservative Partido Popular (PP) was backed in parliament by an unlikely coalition of Vox, Podemos, Junts per Catalunya, Esquerra Republicana (ERC) and the Galician nationalist bloc (BNG).
The amendment reverses changes made in July 2024, which meant Renfe only had to dish out a 50 percent refund if services were more than an hour late.
A train had to arrive over 90 minutes later than scheduled for passengers to be entitled to a full refund.
But the latest rule change, approved on Thursday, has come under fierce criticism, with the transport ministry slamming the change as ‘populist’ and problematic to execute.
Oscar Puente, the transport minister, warned that the rule’s legal footing ‘needs to be assessed’.
Bosses at Renfe believe a change to compensation criteria places the company at a competitive disadvantage compared to private operators Ouigo and Iryo, which are unaffected by the legislation and can continue to follow the original 60/90 minute reimbursement rule.
“It is unclear why this amendment only seeks to penalise Renfe, a public Spanish company, and not Ouigo or Iryo,” a Renfe source told Catalan newspaper Diari ARA.
“Making this demand of a single company, in a competitive environment like that of commercial services, condemns the company and its workers to compete at a disadvantage.”
Executives at Renfe are reportedly examining legal options to challenge the rule change.
In 2023, Renfe paid about €42 million in compensation to passengers impacted by delayed services.
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Good news for passengers but bad news for the industry and ultimately for passengers. This will simply result in schedule and data manipulation, and maybe push unsafe speeds in some situations.
This is not good news. It will drive up the cost of all tickets. It is also an insult to Renfe. They provide excellent service on a very timely basis.
Generally agree… most of the AVE services are very good if expensive …
Let’s hope they don’t take advantage.