Renfe has assumed since Wednesday the sale of train tickets in 142 stations in which until now Adif was responsible for that task, but will only have face-to- face sales in which they exceed 100 daily travelers , which, according to the CGT union, will mean close the lockers in about 150.
In stations that do not have lockers, travelers must resort to other purchase methods, such as internet, telephone or self-selling machines .
The transfer of the sale of ADIF tickets to Renfe in those 142 stations is part of the process of liberalization of rail passenger transport .
From next December, the French operator SNCF and the consortium formed by the Spanish company Ilsa and the Italian company Trenitalia will compete with Renfe on the high-speed lines.
In this context, ADIF, the railway infrastructure manager, has stopped dealing with the sale of Renfe tickets at the stations.
In June 2017, ADIF had already transferred this task to Renfe in most of the stations, but it still carried out that task in smaller ones .
According to sources in Adif, tickets were sold in person at these 142 stations, although not all of them had ticket offices , because the manager's staff in charge of other activities took care of it.
From now on, Renfe will assume the face-to-face sale of tickets at stations that have a daily average of passengers exceeding 100 and a minimum volume of box office operations, the company said in a statement.
Renfe, which has not specified the number of stations that will be left without lockers, will soon launch a tender to award the face-to-face sale .
However, all stations will have self-selling machines , which will force the company to install them where there are not yet.
In addition, Renfe will make available to travelers a telephone number at the stations to resolve queries . The number will be indicated at the station itself.
Post office sales
Travelers can also use Renfe's own ticket sales channels: renfe.com, the Renfe Ticket application, telephone purchase and acquisition through train interveners .
Finally, travelers will be able to buy tickets for the AVE, Avant and conventional medium and long distance trains at Post offices thanks to the agreement signed by the two companies.
According to Renfe, regardless of these changes in ticket sales, ADIF stations will maintain their usual activity.
Renfe has initiated contacts with local and regional institutions to inform them of the measures taken to facilitate the sale of tickets and access to trains at the stations managed by ADIF.
The CGT union has criticized the closure, a measure that, according to its calculations, will affect more than 500,000 citizens , who will have to buy the tickets through other means.
CGT accuses Adif and Renfe of applying "mercantilist criteria of doubtful profitability" which, in their opinion, "serve to balance the accounting numbers but plunge thousands of citizens into abandonment" and aggravate the problem of "emptied Spain."
According to the union, the measures adopted will have "important consequences" on the number of jobs and will result in the "precariousness" of the stations , which could "reopen with private sector workers."
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