Spain to report French low-cost rail company Ouigo to European Commission for price dumping

Spain is preparing to lodge a complaint with the European Commission against French low-cost rail operator Ouigo for anti-competitive practices since the liberalization of the high speed network that began at the end of 2020. 

Transport minister Óscar Puente announced on Thursday that the complaint from Spanish public rail operator Renfe would not be submitted to the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) but would instead be submitted to a higher authority.

"We want to go to the European Commission and have it make a ruling," Puente said in an interview with Spanish radio station Onda Cero.

Earlier this year the minister demanded "responsibility" from SNCF's Spanish subsidiary over its business model and accused the company of "price dumping."

The minister also criticized the Spanish-Italian operator Iryo and said that the practices of the two operators had caused Renfe to have "bad results." Their French and Italian competitors were "losing a tremendous amount of money," Puente argued.

He was also critical of France's "lack of reciprocity," accusing authorities of making it difficult for Renfe to enter the French market.

Barcelona-Paris route

French public rail operator SNCF announced last week it will add an extra high-speed train connecting Barcelona and Paris during the summer months, expanding the service from two trains daily to three.

The extra train will run from July 6 until September 1 in response to the increase in the number of passengers over the summer.

The route is operated by SNCF's TGV Inoui brand, connecting Barcelona and Paris with stops including Girona, Figueres, Perpignan, Narbonne, Montpellier, and Nîmes. The journey time to Paris Gare de Lyon from Barcelona Sants is 6 hours and 45 minutes.