The Spanish transport minister wants to refer the matter to the European Commission.
Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente has announced that Renfe, which operates the rail network, will file a complaint against Ouigo, the low-cost subsidiary of SNCF, for unfair competition in the Spanish market. A procedure which will be submitted to the European Commission.
The cause is the pricing practices of the French company. The conflict dates back to last March. The minister had denounced the commercial practices of the French operator who sold tickets “well below” of their real cost, recalls the Spanish radio Onda Cera, which led to an increase in the price for the consumer in Spain.
“If the French company plans to lose money, there is no other solution than to increase prices”he insisted in this interview where he deplored that the principle of “concurrence“be diverted into real”guerre“. A perverse effect damaging to the liberalization of the Spanish rail market.
Ouigo did not hesitate to draw out an exceptional offer of 10,000 tickets at 1 euro. Since May 2021, the company has served several cities on the Spanish high-speed network, including Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia.
