What it is

Opening rail passenger service to competition and reorganizing RENFE and FEVE

BOE step 7 of 7 · Passed

It is a royal decree-law. It was introduced on 20 July 2012. Introduced by: Gobierno.

Official title: Royal Decree-Law 22/2012, of 20 July, adopting measures in the field of railway infrastructure and services.

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 130/000023· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

RENFE-Operadora will be reorganized into four state-owned trading companies, all owned by RENFE-Operadora, covering passengers; freight and logistics; manufacturing and maintenance; and rail asset management. The Council of Ministers must authorize their creation.
The public entity FEVE is abolished on December 31, 2012. Its assets, rights, obligations and workers are split between ADIF and RENFE-Operadora, depending on whether they are attached to infrastructure or to running rail services.
The liberalization of rail passenger transport on the general interest network is moved forward: the market opens on July 31, 2013, earlier than planned in the Rail Sector Law.
Regional governments that already had commuter and regional services transferred to them may arrange for those services to be provided.
Before December 31, 2012, the Ministry of Public Works must send the Council of Ministers a proposal on rail infrastructure that is not profitable and on medium-distance services that are not public service obligations.
Two sections built by the State are assigned to ADIF: the Mediterranean corridor connection (Vandellós-Tarragona Area) and the A Coruña-Vigo section of the Atlantic high-speed axis. In addition, the number of public sector companies and foundations under the Ministry of Public Works is to be reduced.

Who it affects

RENFE-Operadora and its workers: It is reorganized into four companies and its staff move into them, with no increase in pay or staffing costs.
FEVE workers: They join ADIF or RENFE-Operadora, keeping the collective agreements in force.
Rail passengers: From July 31, 2013, several companies will compete in rail passenger transport.
Regional governments with transferred commuter and regional services: They may arrange for those transport services to be provided.

Words worth knowing

Entidad pública empresarial: A public organization that provides services like a company, but belongs to the State.
Liberalización: Liberalization: opening a service to competition so it is not provided by a single company.
Red ferroviaria de interés general (RFIG): The State-wide rail network, connecting different parts of Spain, as opposed to local or regional networks.
Subrogarse: To step into another entity's place, taking over its rights and obligations.
Obligación de servicio público: Public service obligation: a service the government requires to be maintained even if it is not profitable, such as some medium-distance trains.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries

Where it stands

How far did it get?

It took 7 of 7 steps. It reached BOE, and today it is passed.

Introduced20 July 2012Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
Admitted24 July 2012The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
Amendmentsno dateGroups propose changes.
Committeeno dateA committee goes through the text in detail.
Plenary24 July 2012All 350 deputies vote.
Senateno dateThe Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
BOEno dateIt is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.

See the 4 official steps on a timeline

24 July 2012

How did the plenary vote?

More votes against 139 yes · 177 no

Voted on: Processing as a Government bill by the urgent procedure of Royal Decree-Law 22/2012, of 20 July, adopting measures in the field of railway infrastructure and services.

This law had 2 votes; this is the latest with every deputy’s vote. See them all

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, vote 3 of sitting 50· updated 10 Nov

Each dot is a seat. Tap one, or use the arrow keys, to see who it is.

Your province

How did the deputies from your province vote?

And your senators: the Senate does not link its votes to this law in its open data, so we cannot put them side by side here.

Or see how most of each province voted

More details: how each group and each province voted

The groups

Who voted in favour and who against?

In favour, most of Socialista, Vasco (EAJ-PNV), Mixto, GC-CiU, GIP and GUPyD. Against, most of Popular en el Congreso. 2 deputies voted differently from their group.

By province: in 9 most voted in favour; in 37, against.

Coloured by how most of each province’s deputies voted.

In favour: 9
Against: 37
Tie: 6

Result by parliamentary group
Group	Seats	How it voted
Socialista	110	102 in favour · 1 against · 7 did not vote
Vasco (EAJ-PNV)	5	5 in favour
Mixto	18	6 in favour · 1 against · 11 did not vote
GC-CiU	16	14 in favour · 2 did not vote
GIP	11	8 in favour · 3 did not vote
GUPyD	5	4 in favour · 1 did not vote
Popular en el Congreso	185	175 against · 10 did not vote

What happens next

What happens now?

It is law, or will be once published in the BOE. It comes into force on the date its own text sets.

Published in the BOE: Royal Decree-Law 22/2012, of July 20, adopting measures in the field of railway infrastructure and services.

Sources

Where does all this come from?

Congreso de los Diputados, file 130/000023
Official title, type, author, dates and stage.

Retrieved 11 November 2026
Congreso de los Diputados, vote 3 of sitting 50
The count and every seat’s vote.

Retrieved 10 November 2026
BOE, BOE-A-2012-9772
The law as published.

Retrieved 11 November 2026

The data comes from the open files of the Congreso, the Senate and the BOE, unaltered.
Each deputy’s province is the one of their seat on the day of the vote.
We only say “passed” or “rejected” when the majority needed is certain; otherwise we say which side had more votes.

Read the full method · Report an error