he effective liberalisation of Public Service Obligation (PSO) trains in Spain may be delayed until 2033. The state-owned operator Renfe is confident that the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility will renew the current public service contract covering Cercanías (commuter), Media Distancia (Regional), and Avant (high-speed regional trains) services through to 2032.
This was confirmed by the company’s president, Álvaro Fernández Heredia, in an interview with Trenvista. In it, he assured: “There will be an extension of the PSO until 2033 – I’m convinced it will be granted.”
His remarks align with the Ministry’s recent actions. The current contract programme, under which the State defines which subsidised services Renfe operates and how often, initially stipulated that 3% of services would be liberalised in 2026.
However, in September, a long-anticipated decision was made public: this earlier liberalisation plan was scrapped through an addendum to the contract. The agreement, signed in 2018, expires on 31 December 2027 but includes the option for a five-year extension. With less than two years remaining, the Ministry has yet to announce any regulatory progress on the liberalisation process.
In October 2022, a draft ministerial order went out for public consultation, closing submissions on the 28th of that month. Approval of this order is a prerequisite for launching the bidding process.
What the PSO liberalisation will look like
The government will be able to tender one or more public service contracts, structured either as a single lot or several. For instance, a sole nationwide contract similar to the current one could be issued, or the lots could be divided by regions, commuter networks, or service types. Each lot or contract may encompass one or several routes, as defined in the tender documents.
Bidders will compete to offer the highest level of service with the lowest compensation (subsidy). According to the draft order, other criteria such as accessibility and environmental performance will also be taken into account.
The awarded operator will run the contracted services exclusively for the duration of the concession. For example, the Avant service between Madrid and Valladolid will be run by a single operator, meaning passengers will not be able to choose between different companies for PSO train travel.
Regarding rolling stock, the draft stipulates that the current operator must facilitate the transfer or sale of trains to the incoming operator. It also requires the outgoing company to grant access to infrastructure and facilities used for staff training.
Renfe aims to remain the sole operator
Fernández Heredia stressed: “If competition opens up, we will still aim to be the exclusive operator, because we believe we are clearly the best in fulfilling this public duty and in offering a superior service to any potential competitor.”
This outcome could be achieved either through a single contract designed for Renfe to win, or by Renfe successfully bidding for all lots in the tender.
The cases of Catalonia and the Basque Country
Exceptions to this rule apply in Catalonia and the Basque Country, where regional governments hold competence over Commuter rail services and are expected to launch their own tenders once Renfe’s current contract concludes.
Given that both regions have their own public rail operators, they could directly award PSO operations to FGC and Euskotren, respectively.
In fact, Catalonia has already granted FGC the concession for operating the Rodalies service to El Prat Airport, as well as the Rodalies Lleida network.