Raül Blanco, Chairman of Renfe, is leading the process for the transformation of Renfe's organisational structure over the next few years, as part of the 2028 Strategic Plan, with the aim of boosting the company's competitiveness, increasing the effectiveness of its management procedures, optimising its resources and guaranteeing the sustainability of the company's business. The new organisational structure was approved today, in an extraordinary meeting of the Board of Directors.
The "Renfe28" management and organisation model, presented today by Raül Blanco to the company's Board of Directors, will focus on innovation and digitalization as its key levers (tools that will help improve Renfe's competitive position across all of its activities), based on the trust of its People (passengers and professionals), with the following goals:
- Boosting public services: Cercanías (Commuter), Rodalies (Commuter) and Media Distancia (Mid-distance). The first trains will be received in 2024, as part of the framework of this Strategic Plan, so Renfe can start to operate 406 new trains for its public services by 2028. As a result, Renfe will have a fleet with the most modern trains in Europe in this segment. The huge investment effort will serve to build on the loyalty of our passengers and, as a consequence, consolidate our company as the benchmark operator, with a view to facing the future liberalisation of these services, a process that will occur by 2033.
- Leading the market for high-speed services that have already been liberalised, in which Renfe currently competes with a French operator and another with Italian capital. The upcoming launch of the 106 and 107 series trains will serve to improve Renfe's range of services in the long-distance market. Renfe will restructure this business, with a focus on innovation and digitalisation, and with the aim of consolidating as the leading operator, increasing its market share and becoming a benchmark in the sector for passengers.
- Consolidating Renfe Mercancías as an end-to-end logistics operator. To achieve this, the company will delve into the transformation of its management model in collaboration with its partners and with the consensus of social agents to improve the financial equilibrium and ensure the future sustainability of its activities, while building on the loyalty of Renfe's passengers.
- Transforming Renfe Engineering and Maintenance to optimise its production processes, using digitalisation as the basic lever. The new high-speed trains and public services, all of which currently use cutting-edge technology, should serve as the lever to restructure Renfe's industrial area across mainland Spain, creating direct and indirect jobs. Moreover, it will be linked directly to the most innovative projects of Spanish train manufacturers. With regard to the Engineering and Maintenance area, the entire cultural change management process will make Renfe's services the most attractive services on the market.
- Boosting Renfe's presence in other markets across the world, taking advantage of the railway liberalisation processes for long-distance and public commuter services. In 2023, Renfe rolled out new projects in Central Europe and America. With regard to the Renfe28 Plan, the company aims to ensure the widespread implementation of its management model to boost its turnover and become a benchmark in other countries around the world in long-distance lines and in public services that regional authorities put up for tender.
- Driving Good Corporate Governance structures across all Group areas and companies, in accordance with Renfe's size, responsibility and leadership.
Our Chairman Raül Blanco is addressing the new corporate transformation process as part of the Strategic Plan with all of these goals, all of which make up the Renfe28 Plan. This comprehensive and in-depth transformation process was approved today by the Board of Directors and presented to the main internal social agents, in the search for maximum consensus and with the aim of ensuring all teams and professionals fully and actively participate throughout the process.
The essence of transforming Renfe's management model will also reside in its People: passengers, who value the service and who will choose their favourite benchmark operator, and professionals, who must roll out the model to turn Renfe into a national and international benchmark.
The following organisational changes have been approved today:
- Restructuring the current General Development and Strategy Department and transforming it into a General Innovation, Sustainability and Digital Transformation Department (as the levers driving the Renfe28 Plan). Therefore, the Strategy and Studies areas will become part of the Deputy General Department of the Chairman's Office, Strategy and Institutional Relations, and the European fund management and processing activities will now be included in the General Economic-Financial Department. The Engineering area will become part of Renfe's current Manufacturing and Maintenance Department, which will be transformed into Renfe Engineering and Maintenance.
- Consolidating Renfe Internacional as a Public Limited Company that is fully owned by the Renfe Group, with a permanent vocation to drive new business opportunities in other countries and with a stronger organisational structure.
- Transforming the current General Safety, Organisation and Human Resources Department into the new General Organisation and Talent Department, focusing on the promotion of People management, searching for internal and external talent and renewing the workforce, currently experiencing the most important generational change in its history.
- In relation to this, all areas related to Safety (traffic safety, safety during operation, citizen safety and civil protection, cybersecurity and worker safety) will be integrated into the General Business and Operations Department, so all national passenger and freight transport businesses, Engineering and Maintenance and Rolling Stock Rental businesses can develop these functions directly across all processes.
In addition, the Chairman will inform the Board of Directors of new appointments in the new organisational structure. All new hires will follow the corresponding onboarding process, which will be gradual and well organised, to ensure good governance and efficiency in the transition to the new management model.