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Former statewide narrow-gauge rail operator. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ferrocarriles Españoles de Vía Estrecha (FEVE),[1] officially registered as Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha[2] and known in its last years by the brand name Feve, was a Spanish public railway operator, founded in 1965, in charge of operating the national narrow-gauge network, whose management passed to the State after the extinction of the original owner companies. The entity depended on the Ministry of Development, being the second Spanish company in its sector, in terms of importance, after the also extinct RENFE. FEVE came to operate on a railway network of 1250 km of tracks.[3]
Spanish Narrow-Gauge Railways | |
| |
 | |
| Abbreviation | FEVE |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Explotación de Ferrocarriles por el Estado |
| Successor | Renfe Adif |
| Formation | September 23, 1965 |
| Dissolved | December 31, 2012 |
| Type | State-owned enterprise |
| Purpose | Rail transport |
| Headquarters |  Spain |
Owner | General State Administration, dependent on the Ministry of Development (Spain) |
| Staff | 1968 (in 2005) |
FEVE was extinguished on December 31, 2012, as a result of the Spanish Government's plan to unify the state-owned narrow and broad-gauge public operators. Similar to the process culminated with RENFE in 2004, FEVE's infrastructures (stations, tracks, etc.) were segregated in Adif.[4] Its railway material, as well as the operation of its routes for freight and passengers, in addition to the rights over its corporate identity, were segregated in Renfe-Operadora. The latter continued FEVE's work in the fields of freight and passenger transport, respectively, through Renfe Mercancías and Renfe Viajeros (first as Renfe Feve and as Renfe Cercanías AM since 2021).[5]
Throughout its history, FEVE simultaneously owned railroads of five different track gauges: 1435 mm, 1062 mm, 1000 mm, 915 mm and 750 mm.[6]
The origins of FEVE are in the organization Explotación de Ferrocarriles por el Estado (EFE), which had been created in 1926 for the management of the state-built railway lines, or those that had passed to state management. After the creation of RENFE in 1941, EFE's scope of action was greatly reduced, since it was limited to the narrow-gauge railroads. The situation changed radically after 1960, when a large number of small mining railroads went bankrupt and the State came to their rescue. Due to the large number of lines that the State was forced to manage in such a short time, in order to streamline the administration, a new autonomous organization was formally created on September 23, 1965; that same day EFE changed its name to Ferrocarriles Españoles de Vía Estrecha (FEVE).[7]
The FEVE network consisted of the lines of former companies such as Sociedad General de Ferrocarriles Vasco Asturiana, Ferrocarriles Económicos de Asturias, Ferrocarril de Langreo, Ferrocarril de Carreño, Ferrocarril Cantábrico, Ferrocarril Santander-Bilbao, Ferrocarril de La Robla, Ferrocarriles de Mallorca, Ferrocarril Cartagena-Los Blancos, in addition to the Ferrocarril Ferrol-Gijón, built entirely by the State. However, many of these railroads were in a very critical situation, with the railway material and/or infrastructure in great need of improvement. For this reason there were other narrow-gauge lines, such as those inherited through the Compañía de Ferrocarriles Secundarios de Castilla, which were closed soon after being considered loss-making.
The longest line owned by the company is 330 kilometers long, known as the Ferrocarril de La Robla. It originally ran from La Robla to Balmaseda and was built to transport coal from the mining industry in Leon and Palencia to the steel industry in Biscay. At the beginning of the 20th century the sections Balmaseda-Luchana and the access to Bilbao (taking advantage of the route of the Ferrocarril Santander-Bilbao) and Matallana-León were built, thus connecting the capitals of León and Bilbao. Currently the sections between Matallana de Torío and La Robla and Iráuregui-Luchana do not provide passenger service. It is the longest metric track in Europe, running through the eastern mountains of León, the north of the province of Palencia, the south of Cantabria, the north of the province of Burgos and Biscay.
In 1980 FEVE began to specialize in freight and regional and commuter passenger transport. On the other hand, it created the luxury tourist train Transcantábrico, which began its services in 1982, becoming the company's star service. It runs from Santiago de Compostela-Ferrol-Bilbao-León (the Santiago-Ferrol section is by bus).
In addition, the Ministry of Development made numerous investments to improve both the infrastructure and the rolling stock. After the cessions made to the autonomous regions, FEVE's railway network was mainly focused on the Cantabrian Coast. The main FEVE line in the Cantabrian Coast was the one connecting Ferrol with Bilbao through the provinces of Biscay, Cantabria, Asturias and Lugo. Also linked to this general line were several minor lines and branch lines, where, as a general rule, commuter trains provided service. These lines and branches were the following:
There are also several industrial branches that connect the general FEVE network with loading stations of private industries and seaports. FEVE was also the owner of the international section Puente Internacional in Irun-Hendaye, of the line popularly known as "El Topo", although the operation was ceded to Euskotren. In Asturias and Cantabria, FEVE had an important network of commuter lines. In Galicia it operated the commuter line between Ferrol and Ortigueira. In the Region of Murcia it also had a line between Cartagena and Los Nietos.
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After the approval of the 1978 Constitution, and in accordance with the state of autonomies it established, as of 1979 a significant part of the narrow gauge network was transferred by the central government to the new autonomous communities, which began to manage it through public bodies:
In 2005 FEVE, faced with the new Spanish railway scenario characterized by liberalization and opening to competition (from which FEVE was initially exempted), the public entity undertakes a strategic plan that sets the guidelines for the company in the medium term to start the process of railway liberalization required by the European Union. The plan emphasizes the optimization of human resources and specialization by sector, creating management divisions (similar to Renfe's Business Units), which will specialize in their corresponding markets. The strategic plan aims to increase the company's coverage index by 12 points to 45%, with emphasis on the search for income by attracting tourist traffic and new freight customers, as well as its consolidation in commuter and regional train passengers.
Different public bodies —such as the Court of Auditors and the General State Comptroller— have pointed out FEVE's budgetary mismanagement during the period 2005–2012, estimating an increase in FEVE's debt from 191 to 569 million euros due to numerous "irregularities".[8] In the years of presidency of Ángel Villalba, who was president of FEVE during the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, there were also several controversies surrounding his management of FEVE:[9] in 2011, while he was still president, four railway convoys were initially acquired (although the number was eventually raised to 28 trains) that had to be scrapped and resold again,[10] because they were ordered without ever having a railway network on which they could run.[11]
On July 20, 2012, Royal Decree-Law 22/2012 [1], of July 20, 2012, was approved, whereby FEVE was extinguished on December 31, 2012, and the infrastructure was subrogated to Adif and the operation of the trains to Renfe-Operadora.[12] In this way, the national broad-gauge and narrow-gauge networks were unified. In practice, Renfe continued to use the Feve brand to refer to all the passenger services it inherited from the previous company, until 2021, when it began to progressively replace the Renfe Feve brand with Renfe Cercanías AM.
| Name | Start | End |
|---|---|---|
| Jesús Santos Rein[13][14] | November 7, 1968 | November 14, 1969 |
| Camilo Mira Muñoz[15][16] | November 14, 1969 | June 9, 1972 |
| Jaime Badillo[17][18] | June 9, 1972 | February 18, 1977 |
| Manuel de Vicente González[19][20] | February 18, 1977 | July 29, 1977 |
| Javier Sagües Martínez de Azagra[21][22] | January 29, 1978 | December 29, 1982 |
| Fernando de Esteban[23][24] | December 29, 1982 | December 12, 1986 |
| Joaquín Martínez Vilanova[25][26] | December 12, 1986 | November 30, 1990 |
| Gonzalo Martín Baranda[27][28] | November 30, 1990 | December 10, 1994 |
| José María Gurruchaga[29][30] | January 13, 1995 | February 12, 1999 |
| Eugenio Damborenea | 1999 | 2004 |
| Dimas Sañudo[31][32] | April 30, 2004 | March 28, 2008 |
| Ángel Villalba | June 17, 2008 | January 20, 2012 |
| Marcelino Oreja | January 20, 2012 | December 31, 2012 |
| Model | Image | Serial No. | Manufacturer | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000 Series |  |
1021-1063 | Alsthom, Levallois-Perret | 1955 | Some of them transformed into 1900 Series. |
| 1100 Series | 1101-1121 | Creusot - SECNSestao, | 1950's | ||
| 1200 Series | 1201-1210 | Batignolles - CAF, Beasain | 1950's | Acquired by the Ministry of Development for several narrow-gauge companies, later used by FEVE. | |
| 1300 Series | 1318-1325 | SECN, Sestao | 1966 | The 1322 remains on display at Cistierna.[33] Shunting vehicle. | |
| 1400 Series |  |
1421-1425 | Henschel, Electro-Motive Division | 1956 - 1959 | |
| 1500 Series |  |
1501-1510
1511–1515 |
General Electric, Eire Babcock & Wilcox, Sestao | 1964 - 1974 | Known as GECo.
The 1514 sold to Argentina.[34] 1503, 1504, 1508 and 1502 sold to Madagascar. Currently only 1505 and 1510 remain (both in Aboño). |
| 1600 Series | _@_Viveiro.jpg) |
1651-1660 | M.T.M., Barcelona | 1981 | Under Alsthom license. |
| 1900 Series |  |
1901-1917 | FEVE, El Berrón | 2002 | Rebuilt from 1000 Series. |
| Model | Image | Serial No. | Manufacturer | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Series | 2001 - 2006
2011- 2029 |
Ferrostaal | 1957 | Acquired by the Ministry of Development for several narrow-gauge companies, later used by FEVE. | |
| 2100 Series |  |
2101 - 2104
2111 - 2131 2141 - 2145 |
Billard | 1957 | |
| 2200 Series | 2201 - 2202 | MAN | 1955 | ||
| 2300 Series |  |
2301 - 2373 | MAN | 1966 | |
| 2400 Series |  |
2401 - 2479 | MTM, Barcelona | 1983 | Acquired by FEVE for other lines. Most sold to the Instituto Costarricense de Ferrocarriles (Costa Rica).[35] |
| 2500 Series | 2501 and 2551 | MTM, Barcelona | 1988 | Refurbished and integrated into the 2400 Series as 2401 and 2451. | |
| 2600 Series |  |
2601 - 2624 | CAF-Sunsundegui, Alsasua | 1994 | Manufactured from the reconstruction of 2300 Series units. |
| 2700 Series |  |
2701 - | CAF-Sunsundegui, Alsasua | 2009 | Newly built model. 23 units ordered, incorporation began in August 2009.[36] |
| 2900 Series |  |
2901 - | CAF-Sunsundegui, Alsasua | 2009 | New construction model. Derived from the 2700 |
| Model | Image | Serial No. | Manufacturer | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3300 Series |  |
3301-3323 | CAF-Sunsundegui | 2009 | They were part of the 3500 Series, refurbished with three-phase motors. |
| 3500 Series |  |
3516-3537 | CAF-Sunsundegui | 1977 | |
| 3600 Series |  |
3601-3624
3625–3642 |
CAF-Sunsundegui-Siemens | 2000 | Manufactured from the rebuilding of 2600 Series units. |
| 3800 Series |  |
3801-3816 | CAF-Sunsundegui | 1992 |
NOTE: In bold, models that were still active at the time of the company's demise.
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