Ferrocarriles Españoles de Vía Estrecha

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]

Ferrocarriles Españoles de Vía Estrecha

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 (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]

History

See also: History of rail transport in Spain

Creation and first years

FEVE 2300 Series unit stationed in Avilés (1977).

FEVE 1400 Series locomotives in Santander (1988).

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:

• In Asturias, the lines Trubia-Mieres-Collanzo, Pravia-San Esteban (the latter coming from the former Ferrocarril Vasco Asturiano), Gijón-Pola de Laviana (from the former Ferrocarril de Langreo) and the line Gijón-Avilés-Cudillero (heir of the Ferrocarril del Carreño and that of Ferrol-Gijón).
• In Cantabria there is a branch line that connects Liérganes with Orejo, station of the Bilbao - Santander section.

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.

Transfer to autonomous communities

Spain's metric gauge network.

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:

• Eusko Trenbideak - Ferrocarriles Vascos (ET/FV): created by the Basque Government in 1982, it came to operate several lines in the provinces of Gipuzkoa and Biscay.
• Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC): created in 1979, it began operating several regional and/or commuter lines in the province of Barcelona.
• Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (FGV): created in 1986, it began operating several regional and/or commuter lines in the Valencian Community.
• Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca (SFM): created in 1994, it operates several lines on the island of Mallorca.

FEVE train at Inca station (Mallorca) in March 1990.

Last years and disappearance

FEVE freight train running on the La Robla railroad, around 1998.

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.

Presidents

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

Motor equipment

Locomotives

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		1651-1660	M.T.M., Barcelona	1981	Under Alsthom license.
1900 Series		1901-1917	FEVE, El Berrón CAF-Sunsundegui, Alsasua	2002	Rebuilt from 1000 Series.

Diesel units

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

Electrical units

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.

References

1. Andre Heck (2004). StarBriefs Plus: A Dictionary of Abbreviations, Acronyms and Symbols in Astronomy and Related Space Sciences, Springer-Science, p. 346.
2. "BOE.es - Documento BOE-A-1994-10364". www.boe.es (in Spanish). Retrieved October 8, 2019.
3. Carolin Enders (2010). Bahngesellschaften in Europa Eine vergleichende Markt- und Wettbewerbsanalyse, Diplomica Verlag.
4. RTVE. "Deja de existir FEVE, cuyo patrimonio de bienes y servicios se repartirá entre Renfe y Adif" (in Spanish). Retrieved December 31, 2012.
5. Europa Press. "Feve defiende su integración con Renfe y Adif como la "única solución" para la empresa" (in Spanish). Retrieved May 24, 2012.
6. "FEVE - 2009 - Nociones básicas ferroviarias" (PDF) (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
7. Olmedo Gaya, Ana. "Historia legislativa de los ferrocarriles de vía estrecha" (PDF). Universidad de Granada.
8. "Las "irregularidades" de Feve van a juicio". elcomercio.es (in Spanish). September 21, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
9. "Fomento denuncia al socialista Ángel Villalba por "estafa y malversación" al frente de Feve". La Nueva España (in Spanish). April 11, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
10. "El juez rechaza el blindaje del ex director general de FEVE, amigo íntimo de Zapatero". abc.es (in Spanish). May 6, 2013. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
11. "Ana Pastor pide investigar la compra de 28 trenes en Feve que no podían circular". leonoticias.com (in Spanish). January 23, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
12. Royal Decree-Law 22/2012 , of July 20, 2012. Boletín Oficial del Estado n°. 174. June 21, 2012 PDF (in Spanish).
13. "Decreto 2862/1968, 7 de noviembre, por el que se nombra Presidente del Consejo de Administración de «Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha» (FEVE) a don Jesús Santos Rein". Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (282): 16696. November 23, 1968. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
14. "DECRETO 2812/1969 de 14 de noviembre, por el que se dispone el cese en el cargo de Presidente del Consejo de Administración de Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha (FEVE) de don Jesús Santos Rein" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (274): 17824. November 15, 1969. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
15. "Decreto 2815/1969, de 14 de noviembre, por el que se nombra Presidente del Consejo de Administración de «Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha» (FEVE) a don Camilo Mira Muñoz". Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (274): 17824. November 15, 1969. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
16. "DECRETO 155811972. de 9 de junio, por el que se dispone cese en el cargo de Presidente del Conseio de Administración de Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha (FEVE) don Camilo Mira Muñoz". Boletín Oficial del Estado (147). August 20, 1972.
17. "Decreto 1559/1972, de 9 de junio, por el que se nombra Presidente del Consejo de Administración de «Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha» (FEVE) a don Jaime Badillo Díez". Boletín Oficial del Estado (147): 10996. June 20, 1972. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
18. "REAL DECRETO 204/1977, de 18 de febrero, por el que se dispone el cese de don Jaime Badillo Diez como Presidente del Consejo de Administración de «Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha» (FEVE)" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (44): 4220. February 21, 1977. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
19. "REAL DECRETO 205/1977, de 18 de febrero, por el que se nombra Presidente del Consejo de Administración de «Ferrocarriles de Via Estrecha» (FEVE) a don Manuel de Vicente González" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (44): 4220. February 21, 1977. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
20. "REAL DECRETO 2284/1977, de 29 de julio, por el que cesa como Presidente del Consejo de Administración del F.E.V.E. don Manuel de Vicente González" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (210): 19688. September 2, 1977. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
21. "Real Decreto 109/1978, de 27 de enero, por el que se nombra Presidente del Consejo de Administración de «Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha» (FEVE) a don Javier Sagües Martínez de Azagra". Boletín Oficial del Estado (27): 2389. February 1, 1978. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
22. "Real Decreto 3901/1982, de 29 de diciembre, por el que cesa como Presidente del Consejo de Administración de Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha (FEVE) don Javier Sagües Martínez de Azagra". Boletín Oficial del Estado (3): 78. January 4, 1983. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
23. "REAL DECRETO 3903/1982, de 29 de diciembre. por el que se nombra Presidente del Consejo de Administración de Ferrocarriles de Vta Estrecha (FEVE) a don Fernando de Esteban Alonso" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (3): 79. January 4, 1983. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
24. "REAL DECRETO 2533/1986, de 12 de diciembre, por el que cesa como Presidente del Consejo de Administración de Ferrocarriles de Via Estrecha (FEVE) don Fernando de Esteban Alonso". Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (298): 40771. December 13, 1986. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
25. "Real Decreto 2533/1986, de 12 de diciembre, por el que cesa como Presidente del Consejo de Administración de Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha (FEVE) don Fernando de Esteban Alonso". Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (298): 40771. December 13, 1986. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
26. "REAL DECRETO 1545/1990. de 30 de noviembre. por el que se cesa como Presidente del Consejo de Administración de Ferrocarriles de Vla Estrecha (FEVE) a don Joaquln Martínez Volanova" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (288): 35763. December 1, 1990. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
27. "Real Decreto 1546/1990, de 30 de noviembre, por el que se nombra Presidente del Consejo de Administración de Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha (FEVE) a don Gonzalo Martín Baranda". Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (288): 35763. December 1, 1990. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
28. "Real Decreto 2391/1994, de 10 de diciembre, por el que se dispone el cese de don Gonzalo Martín Baranda como Presidente del Consejo de Administración de Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha". Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (297): 37520. December 13, 1994. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
29. "Real Decreto 16/1995, de 13 de enero, por el que se nombra Presidente del Consejo de Administración de Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha (FEVE) a don José María Gurruchaga Zapiraín". Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (12). January 14, 1995. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
30. "Real Decreto 266/1999, de 12 de febrero, por el que se dispone el cese de don José María Gurruchaga Zapiraín como Presidente del Consejo de Administración de Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha (FEVE)". Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (38): 6520. February 13, 1999. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
31. "Real Decreto 976/2004, de 30 de abril, por el que se nombra Presidente del Consejo de Administración de la entidad pública empresarial Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha a don Dimas Sañudo Aja". Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (106): 16990. May 1, 2004. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
32. "Real Decreto 412/2008, de 28 de marzo, por el que se dispone el cese de don Dimas Sañudo Aja como Presidente del Consejo de Administración de la Entidad Pública Empresarial Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha". Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (77): 17928. March 29, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
33. Listado del Material Ferroviario Español: Ficha de 1322 (in Spanish). Retrieved June 1, 2009.
34. Listado del Material Ferroviario Español: FEVE - 1500 (in Spanish). Retrieved June 1, 2009.
35. Listado del Material Ferroviario Español: FEVE - 2400 (in Spanish) Retrieved June 9, 2009.
36. León 7 días: Visita a las nuevas unidades 2700 de FEVE (in Spanish). Retrieved June 9, 2009.

External links

• FEVE (in Spanish).