Renfe has been given authorisation to create the state-owned company, Renfe Proyectos Internacionales.
Approved by Spain’s Council of Ministers, the new company must now be approved by Renfe Operadora’s Board of Directors.
Its organisational structure will then be defined, as well as the incorporation of the different businesses that make up Renfe’s international activity.
The authorisation completes a milestone set in Renfe’s 2019-2023-2028 Strategic Plan, which puts international expansion as a key objective.
Renfe is looking to participate in more high-speed, open access and public service obligation projects around the world, and is already involved in several international projects in Europe.
As well as being the majority shareholder of Czech operator Leo Express, it’s also involved in the Rail Baltica project in partnership with DB and INECO.
Furthermore, Renfe recently begun testing its AVE trains that will run between Spain and France, specifically on the Barcelona-Lyon and Madrid-Marseille lines, after obtaining the relevant safety certificate from the European Union Railway Agency (ERA).
Currently it can operate exclusively on the lines to Lyon and Marseilles and passenger services are scheduled to start this spring. It’s now working on obtaining the safety certificate to operate throughout France.
Further afield, Renfe is part of the consortium that built and operates the Haramain Highspeed Railway between Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia and is involved in two major North American projects.
These are the Houston-Dallas bullet train project and the development of the Tren Maya project in Mexico.
