The Spanish Transport Minister has criticised SNCF's low-cost subsidiary Ouigo for selling at a loss since its arrival in Spain in 2021.

Present in Spain since May 2021, Ouigo is selling its high-speed train tickets "far below" cost, according to the Spanish Minister of Transport. In an interview on Onda Cero radio on Monday, Óscar Puente severely criticised SNCF's low-cost subsidiary, referring to "deeply unfair" practices.

The minister announced that Pedro Sánchez's left-wing government is studying the possibility of denouncing Ouigo before the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC).

Since the liberalisation of the rail market, three companies have been competing in the Spanish market: the Spanish national company Renfe (which also has a low-cost subsidiary, Avlo), the subsidiary of the Italian public company Trenitalia, Iryo, and Ouigo.

The French company first opened a Madrid-Barcelona route almost three years ago, before offering new destinations from the Spanish capital to Zaragoza, Tarragona and Valencia. SNCF aims to carry up to 10 million passengers a year to Spain, with around 30 departures a day.

Prices down by 40

While this competition has brought "positive benefits", in particular by lowering prices, Óscar Puente believes that Ouigo has "reduced them to a level that was unsustainable". He continued: "Competition must be fair and must enable the three companies to make a profit or, at the very least, not incur losses".

In an article published on Monday under the headline "Open warfare between the Ministry of Transport and Ouigo as prices continue to fall", the Catalan daily La Vanguardia, citing a CNMV report on high-speed trains, points out that this three-way battle has caused prices to fall by 40% compared to three years ago, when Renfe still had a monopoly.

According to the Barcelona (north-east) daily, the Spanish government considers that Ouigo's pricing policy would not be possible without the agreement of the French authorities, given that SNCF is a public company.

Avec AFP