The CNMC concludes that Ouigo can provide three high-speed services a day between Córdoba and Seville

The new services do not compromise the economic balance of the public service contract between Renfe Viajeros and the Ministry of Transport

MADRID, 22 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) has resolved that the three daily Ouigo services between Córdoba and Seville do not compromise the economic balance of the 2018-2027 public service contract signed between the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility and Renfe Viajeros .

The CNMC, at the request of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, has carried out the economic balance test in accordance with the methodology approved on July 16, 2020.

Their conclusions are that Avant services (high-speed medium-distance public services) are substitutable with the new Ouigo services due to their technical characteristics. However, Avant services would be more competitive than Ouigo's for recurring travelers, having better prices (in multi-trip vouchers), more frequencies and the possibility of changing the date and time of the trip for free. Only non-recurring travelers (those who purchase one-way or round-trip tickets) would be eligible for the new Ouigo services.

Thus, the CNMC considers that only Avant services that run up to 35 minutes before or 35 minutes after Ouigo services will be affected. According to this analysis, only six circulations per day would be affected, out of a total of 20.

Likewise, the balance test concludes that the new Ouigo service would have an impact of 0.07% on the income of the public service contract, which - added to the impact of other services previously analyzed by the CNMC - gives a cumulative incidence of 0.21%. This figure is less than the 1% established by the CNMC methodology to conclude that new services may have a significant impact on the contract.

Based on this analysis, the agency makes a series of recommendations. Between Seville and Córdoba there is significant competition in commercial services, with three different companies (Renfe, Iryo and Ouigo) and four commercial products (Renfe also operates its Avlo brand).

As it has done on previous occasions, the CNMC recommends reviewing the scope of public services between Seville and Córdoba, and only covering multi-trip vouchers for frequent travelers, since for occasional travelers commercial services are cheaper than public services and have enough frequencies (to the three now authorized Ouigo services, 35 commercial services a day from Renfe and 13 from Iryo are added).