The Central Administrative Court for Contractual Appeals (TACRC) has provisionally suspended Renfe’s tender to set up a mixed-ownership bus company, halting the process the rail operator had only recently launched in its search for a private sector partner.
The TACRC, which sits under the Ministry of the Treasury, grounded its decision on the need to prevent “losses that would be difficult or impossible to remedy” should the procurement process continue before the substance of the appeals had been resolved.
The suspension comes just one day after Renfe began distributing the technical specifications — which are confidential in nature — to interested companies, and with bids already submitted by major operators such as Alsa, Avanza and Monbus.
Background to the dispute
Renfe intends to establish a mixed-ownership company — with 51% held by the private partner and 49% by Renfe — to manage rail replacement road services whenever rail lines suffer disruptions.
The trade associations Direbús, Fenadismer and Anetra, representing small and medium-sized operators in the sector, challenged the process on the grounds that the tender requirements — a minimum fleet of 500 coaches if bidding alone, revenues of €75 million, and a presence across several regions — effectively excluded 99% of Spanish passenger transport companies.
Direbús welcomed the ruling, describing it as “a key step to prevent serious harm to the sector as a whole”, and called on Renfe to launch a fresh, lot-based tender, in line with the approach taken by other central government bodies.
Its president, Alfonso Taborda, stressed that most member companies operate between 20 and 60 vehicles, making a minimum requirement of 300 (when bidding as a consortium) one that “favours a very small group of large operators”.