The president of Renfe, Raül Blanco, introduced this Tuesday that he’ll depart his place as head of the general public railway firm on January 14 for private causes. This senior Catalan official, who arrived on the public operator in February 2023, has thus not managed to exceed two years on the head of the corporate and has determined to depart “by mutual agreement” with the Ministry of Transport. His mandate has been marked by technical difficulties within the operation, with a final chapter on the first with the whole fleet of Talgo Avril trains paralyzed for a day; the push for the high-speed market with Ouigo and Iryo, and a tough process of advancing internationalization in direction of France, Italy or central Europe, one thing that stood out as a precedence in an interview with EL PAÍS final August. According to firm sources, the till now chief government goes to concentrate on new skilled aims within the personal sphere.
Álvaro Fernández Heredia, present Secretary General of Sustainable Mobility and man within the inside circle of the present Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, is rising as a attainable substitute for Blanco. The substitute might be made official on the assembly of the Council of Ministers subsequent Tuesday, however the ministry is avoiding confirming for the second the identify of Fernández Heredia as the brand new chief government of Renfe. This Roads, Canals and Ports engineer has a doctorate in Transport Infrastructure from the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM). His expertise within the mobility and transport sector now spans 20 years, during which he has been a professor, researcher, managing director of the Madrid Municipal Transport Company and, later, director of Urban Buses of Valladolid (AUVASA).
The departure of Raül Blanco happens at a time when the railway agency faces the liberalization of latest companies and rising competitors on completely different fronts. In excessive velocity, Adif has launched a second section of the liberalization of passenger transport in three new corridors (Madrid-Galicia, Madrid-Asturias/Cantabria and Madrid-Cádiz/Huelva), which is able to add a most of 72 new companies every day and can now not be completely from Renfe. Regarding financial outcomes, Renfe Viajeros reduces its losses by 35% on the finish of 2024, however continues to declare 43.4 million euros within the pink.
In the circle near Blanco, the work carried out during the last two years in stabilizing the accounts has been highlighted. These sources spotlight that the resignation to proceed within the presidency happens in a context during which Renfe has the capability to be worthwhile regardless of the competitors, whereas it already operates in ten international locations. In addition, they spotlight that the governance of the general public operator has been improved and new transparency and transparency requirements have been carried out. compliance. Rather less than a yr in the past, Renfe introduced a brand new strategic plan with a horizon till 2028, which highlights, past the long-distance transport enterprise, the promotion of the general public companies of Cercanías, Rodalies (within the switch section to the Generalitat of Catalonia) and Media Distancia with the assistance of the fleet renewal program.
Another “essential” goal of the corporate is the reference to Paris, as Blanco identified once more on December 23 in Barcelona, guaranteeing that Renfe continues to work with the French authorities to make it attainable. A milestone that is dependent upon its practice provider Talgo attaining the homologation of the 106 collection (Avril mannequin) in France, a problem that’s overdue. Precisely these Talgo trains, which have been included this yr (virtually two late) into the Renfe fleet, have had a number of incidents, the final of which was on the aforementioned day 1, when all of them had been blocked as a result of a associated pc failure. with battery chargers. This newest disaster provides to greater than half a thousand interruptions recorded because the Avrils got here into operation final May, which elevated rigidity between Renfe and Talgo, along with setting off alarms within the Ministry of Transport concerning the administration of the general public operator.
The issues which have occurred in Renfe companies throughout Blanco’s mandate, for which the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, has needed to give explanations on a number of events in Congress and the Senate, haven’t solely affected to the high-speed and long-distance space, but in addition to Cercanías companies.
A concatenation of modifications
The arrival of Raül Blanco happened virtually two years in the past within the midst of one other earthquake that precipitated the departure of the then president of Renfe, Isaías Táboas, and the previous Secretary of State for Transport, Isabel Pardo de Vera. The set off was the controversy raised by the request for metric gauge trains for Cantabria and Asturias, whose design was incompatible with the measurements of the tunnels.
This setback, and the truth that the Minister of Transport Raquel Sánchez was knowledgeable with the disaster already served, precipitated the arrival at Renfe of Blanco, who was accountable for the PERTE of the car within the Ministry of Industry, the place he confronted the issues of execution and wish for reform of the tasks. In truth, the till now president of what is likely one of the largest railway operators in Europe was dismissed in December 2022 as Secretary General of Industry, though he was recovered by the Socialist Executive solely three months later.
Blanco, linked to the PSC, has a level in Economics from the University of Barcelona; He labored for 3 years as head of the General Secretary of Industry, and was beforehand director of Economic Development of the Hospitalet City Council and supervisor of Industry Strategy on the Generalitat of Catalonia. Appointed by the then minister Raquel Sánchez to steer Renfe, he was saved in workplace after the arrival of Óscar Puente to Transport, who solely modified the top of Adif within the first government line of the general public firms hooked up to the ministry.
For his half, Álvaro Fernández Heredia, managed the general public transport firm of Valladolid till 2023, after his time as managing director of the Madrid Municipal Transport Company through the Manuela Carmena period. Later, he entered politics as a councilor for Más Madrid within the capital’s City Council, though in March of final yr he was appointed head of the General Secretariat of Sustainable Mobility.
https://elpais.com/economia/2025-01-07/raul-blanco-deja-su-cargo-como-presidente-de-renfe.html