High-speed train operator Ouigo accelerates on his offensive to structure the entire Spanish territory and consolidate itself as a “network operator”, as its president has defended Alain Krakovitch after completing the milestone that has eluded him the most in his Spanish roadmap: entry into the Andalusian corridor (Madrid, Málaga, Córdoba and Seville). A mission that the manager himself has compared to “The Cycling Tour of Spain”, given the great difficulties they have gone through to adapt their rolling stock to the technical demands of the Andalusian High Speed.
On a financial level, the Andalusian connection will mark a turning point in your business. According to data provided to the media by its general director, Hélène Valenzuela, This broker will account for “a third of your turnover”and therefore, it will be reflected in the accounts. In fact, the company with a Gallic accent hopes that this expansion will help them achieve the desired economic balance in 2025 and thus put an end to five years of red numbers.
It will also be the last year, where, waiting to know its details, The firm advances a substantial improvement in Ebitda of 50% compared to 2023when it registered 19 million with a negative sign. “The surprising thing would be if we had not had this period of progression and that 2024 would already be profitable when we had not yet achieved entry into Andalusia,” defended the president of the entity before reiterating that they are a private company and, therefore , they do not receive “any type of public subsidy.”
Ouigo’s plans to expand throughout Spain
Ouigo’s expansion plans on Spanish roads now depend on the company’s interest in participating in the second phase of liberalization being cooked up by the railway manager Adifto open the doors to private operators in three new corridors: Madrid-Galicia, Madrid-Asturias/Cantabria and Madrid-Cádiz/Huelva. Ouigo’s intentions in this new opening of the market remain, to this day, a mystery given the difficulties in accessing rolling stock and financing after accumulating 700 million investments to establish its business model in Spain.
“The ambition to continue structuring Spain exists, but we are waiting to know the details of this second phase. When we have them on the table, we hope that in the coming weeks, we will prepare a market study, where we will analyze the conditions and clear up doubts about the material and the fees that we have to pay, to present it to the shareholders. “It will be the shareholder of SNCF – its French parent company – who will make the final decision”Valenzuela explained.
The main challenge lies in the coexistence of two types of gauge – Iberian and standard –which advantage Renfe’s position, since the public group does have an adapted fleet thanks to Talgo technology, unique in Europe, which offers variable gauge trains that reach 300 kilometers per hour.
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