News


HE Spanish Competition Commission (CNC) has attacked the Spanish government over its rail industry liberalisation programme, criticising what it sees as the slow pace and the short reach of the latest reforms and calling for the complete abolition of state- owned train operator Renfe. The government has committed itself to fully opening the rail sector to competition from July 2013, dividing Renfe into four subsidiaries as a prelude to partial privatisation. However, the CNC argues that legal provisions are still inadequate and unclear and is seeking comprehensive regulation to support what it terms “an effective introduction of competition and liberalisation.”


The CNC welcomes the decision to create four Renfe subsidiaries, but suggests that the government should proceed with partial or total


Renfe establishes high-speed leasing pool R


ENFE has announced that its train leasing


subsidiary, which will be established over the next few months, will be allocated 26 high-speed trains for lease to new operators entering the soon-to-be-liberalised high- speed market.


Renfe operates more than 200 high-speed trains of 10 different types supplied by


four different manufacturers, although it has not disclosed which trains will be available for lease. All of the trains have been acquired within the last 20 years at a cost of ƒ13-25m per set, and annual usage equates to around 4 billion passenger-km. Although the Spanish government wants to attract new operators into the high-


speed market and to compete against Renfe from July 2013, company sources quoted by Spanish business journals stated that the liberalisation process will have a limited scope and that “no more than two or three companies, including Renfe” will be allowed to compete in the market, at least in the initial phase.


Mombasa - Nairobi standard-gauge contract awarded K


ENYA Railways


Corporation (KRC) has signed a contract with China Roads and Bridges Company for the construction of a new 500km standard-gauge railway linking the port of Mombasa with the capital Nairobi. Construction was originally due to begin in December 2011, but the $US 2.6bn project has been delayed by financial


4


problems and the difficulty in reaching a consensus with Uganda over the future of the existing metre-gauge line, currently Uganda’s only international rail link. No dates have been given for the implementation of the project, although a senior official from the Ministry of Transport, Dr Cyrus Njiru, says groundbreaking will take


place by the end of the year. The maximum operating speed will be 140km/h for passenger trains and 120km/h for freight, and the route will be cleared for double-stack container operation. The existing Rift Valley Railways line carries only around 6% of freight heading inland from Mombasa, despite the poor quality of competing


Calls for abolition of Renfe as Spain’s rail budget T


Fernando Puente Correspondent


privatisation as soon as possible, abolishing Renfe as a holding company. The competition office claims in its position paper that this will be the only way


to ensure that the new companies could act


independently and beyond the reach of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, which not only controls Renfe but


also the Railway Regulation Committee (CRF) and infrastructure manager Adif. The CNC has also praised the government for the assessment process for service


roads. Freight volumes passing through the port are expected to rise from 17 million tonnes per year to more than 30 million tonnes by 2030, and KRC expects the new line to have a market share of more than 30%. The line will later be extended from Nairobi to Kisumu and Malaba on the Ugandan border.


IRJ November 2012


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