Why SNCF Oigos is in the eye of Pedro Sánchez’s Spanish government

Thomas Samson / AFP

The Spanish Minister of Transport, Oscar Puente, this Monday, April 1, strongly criticized SNCF Oigo.

International – condemns those practices “deeply unfaithful”. The Spanish transport minister, Oscar Puente, this Monday, April 1, strongly criticized SNCF Oigo’s low-cost subsidiary, accusing it of selling at a loss. For that, the French railway company wants to increase its market share in passenger transport at the expense of the Spanish national company, Renfe.

In an interview with Onda Cerro Radio, Oscar Puente, a socialist, criticized Oigo, present in Spain from 2022, for selling tickets. “far down” from their expenditure on high-speed trains.

Pedro Sánchez’s leftist government, he continued, is studying the possibility of censuring Oigo before the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC).

A three-way fight

While the railways signaled the liberalization of the market “Positive Things”Especially leading to a drop in prices, he believed it was “Decline to unsustainable levels” For companies competing for a market. There are three in competition, namely Oigo, Renfe (which also has a low-cost subsidiary, Avalo), and Irio, a subsidiary of the Italian public company Trenitalia.

“Competition should be fair and all three companies should be allowed to make a profit or, at least, not suffer a loss”The minister continued.

In an article published on Monday under the title An open war between the Ministry of Transport and OIGO due to the continuous reduction in pricesCatalan daily La Vanguardia Citing a CNMV report on high-speed trains, this three-way battle has led to a 40% drop in prices compared to three years ago when Renfe had a monopoly.

According to a Barcelona daily, the Spanish government believes that the pricing policy practiced by Oigo is not possible without the agreement of the French authorities, as SNCF is a public company.

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