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Renfe Feve is a division of state-owned Spanish
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
company Renfe Operadora. It operates most of Spain's of railway. This division of Renfe was previously a stand-alone company named FEVE (Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha,Law 11/1965 of 23 September.
Boletín Oficial del Estado The ''Boletín Oficial del Estado'' (''BOE''; " en, Official State Gazette, label=none", from 1661 to 1936 known as the ''Gaceta de Madrid'', " en, Madrid Gazette, label=none") is the official gazette of the Spain, Kingdom of Spain and may be p ...
Number 230. 25 September 196

(PDF)
Spanish for "Narrow-gauge railways"). On 31 December 2012, the Spanish government simplified the organization of train companies merging Feve into Renfe and Adif. The rolling stock and the brand FEVE was transferred to Renfe (renamed to "Renfe Feve") and the infrastructures were transferred to Adif.


History

FEVE was created in 1965, as a successor to the government-run organisation EFE (Explotación de Ferrocarriles por el Estado), which was created by the
Miguel Primo de Rivera Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquess of Estella (8 January 1870 – 16 March 1930), was a dictator, aristocrat, and military officer who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 during Spain's Restoration era. He deepl ...
administration in 1926 to take over failed private railways. Following the creation of Renfe in 1941, to which the ownership of all Spanish broad-gauge railways were transferred to, EFE had in practice become the operator of a collection of exclusively narrow-gauge lines. The present status of FEVE, as a government-owned commercial company, dates from 1965. The new company continued to absorb independent railway lines (, , , & ), where the existing concession holders had been unable to be profitable. Most were converted to (if not already built in that gauge). However, from 1978 onwards, with the introduction of regional
devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories h ...
under the new Spanish
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...
, FEVE also began transferring responsibility for a number of its operations to the new regional governments. This happened in
Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
( FGC) in 1979, in a portion of the
Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...
(
Euskotren Euskotren, formally known as Basque Railways ( eu, Eusko Trenbideak, es, Ferrocarriles Vascos), is a public railway company controlled by the Basque Government and officially established in 1982 to operate several narrow gauge railways inside ...
) network in 1982, in the
Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...
( FGV) in 1986, and with the
Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...
n Railways ( SFM) in 1994. That did not however occur in the
Region of Murcia The Region of Murcia (, ; es, Región de Murcia ), is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain located in the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. The region is in ...
, where the narrow-gauge railway network remained under FEVE control. The above-mentioned EFE (Explotación de Ferrocarriles por el Estado) also operated the Carabanchel – Chamartín de la Rosa suburbano railway in the city of
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
. That railway became part of the
Madrid Metro The Madrid Metro (Spanish: ''Metro de Madrid'') is a rapid transit system serving the city of Madrid, capital of Spain. The system is the 14th longest rapid transit system in the world, with a total length of 293 km (182 mi). Its gro ...
when control of that line was transferred to the
Community of Madrid The Community of Madrid (; es, Comunidad de Madrid ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain. It is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, and of the Central Plateau (''Meseta Central''). Its capital and largest munici ...
in the early-1980s, later integrated as the present-day Line 10. On 31 December 2012, the company disappeared due to the merger of the narrow gauge network FEVE and the broad gauge network RENFE. The infrastructure was transferred to Adif and the rolling stock was transferred to Renfe Operadora. The operation of the narrow gauge network continued under the same conditions after the reorganization.


FEVE network

The great majority of the narrow-gauge lines that were operated by FEVE before it disappeared were located along or near Spain's
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
and
Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...
coastline, which stretches from Galicia in the northwest, through
Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in nor ...
and
Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...
to the Basque Country (with a branch extending into
Castile and León Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain. It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of the ...
). Together they formed a large and strategically important system, which was why – unlike the other, more isolated regional railways – they have been retained under the integrated management of FEVE. FEVE operated of track, of which were
electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...
.


''Transcantábrico'' line

An exclusive tourist service operated by FEVE is a long line, the ''
Transcantábrico The Transcantábrico is a metre-gauge tourist train service, crossing northern Spain along the Bay of Biscay. It is the oldest of Spain's tourist trains, managed by the Spanish public company FEVE since its inauguration in 1983 until 2012, when ...
'', which runs along the entire length of Spain's north coast, and has connected the cities of
San Sebastián San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...
,
Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...
,
Santander Santander may refer to: Places * Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain * Santander Department, a department of Colombia * Santander State, former state of Colombia * Santander de Quilichao, a m ...
,
Oviedo Oviedo (; ast, Uviéu ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city. Oviedo is located ap ...
and Ferrol to
Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...
since 1982. Operated as a holiday service, the carriages of the train are furnished with bedrooms, lounges and restaurants and voyages typically last eight days and seven nights. FEVE also operated "normal" regional (express and stopping) services (in sections) from Ferrol to Hendaye (some sections operated now by regional operators). One of the longest regular (non-tourist) FEVE service operated between Leon and Bilbao (a journey of some 7 hours).


Commuter services

FEVE also operated a range of ''cercanías'' or commuter services. The main commuter area is
Cercanías Asturias Cercanías Asturias is a commuter rail service operating in Autonomous Community of Asturias, mainly in the central area of the region. Lines with Iberian gauge There are three lines, all of them managed by Renfe Operadora: Lines with Me ...
, where the dense five-line FEVE network was totally integrated with the RENFE lines and works effectively as a regional metro system. The Bilbao area has a line running from Bilbao's Concordia station to the large town of
Balmaseda Balmaseda (in Basque and officially, in Spanish: ''Valmaseda'') is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country. Balmaseda is the capital city of the comarca of Enkarterri, in western Biscay and serves an impo ...
, calling at local villages and settlements on its way through
Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...
, as well as the main towns of Basurto, Sodupe,
Aranguren Aranguren is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto ...
, and
Zalla , population_note = , population_density_km2 = auto , blank_name_sec1 = Official language(s) , blank_info_sec1 = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST = CEST , utc ...
. Two commuter lines begin at
Santander railway station Santander railway station, also known as ''Santander ADIF'' to distinguish it from the ''Santander Feve'' station, is the main railway station of the Spanish city of Santander, Cantabria. It opened in 1858 and served over 3 million passengers in 2 ...
and terminate at
Liérganes Liérganes is a municipality located in the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain. According to the 2007 census, the city has a population of 2,391 inhabitants. Towns * Bucarrero * Calgar * Casa del Monte *El Condado *La Costera La Costera ( ...
and
Cabezón de la Sal Cabezón de la Sal is a municipality located in the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain. According to the 2007 census, the town has a population of 7,971 inhabitants. Festivals * 2 February: Las Candelas in Casar de Periedo * 9 March: La ...
. In southern Spain, Renfe Feve operates the historic
Cartagena-Los Nietos Line The Cartagena-Los Nietos Line is a narrow-gauge railway in the Murcia Region of Spain, connecting the city of Cartagena, Spain, Cartagena with smaller satellite towns to its east. History The railway line was first developed in the late nineteent ...
.


Goods operations

FEVE's rails transported approximately 460 million tonnes of goods each year, accounting for a large part of the company's business. The products one may expect to see on board their goods trains include
iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
,
steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
and
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...
, fueling much of the country's industry.


Companies operating former FEVE services

*
Euskotren Euskotren, formally known as Basque Railways ( eu, Eusko Trenbideak, es, Ferrocarriles Vascos), is a public railway company controlled by the Basque Government and officially established in 1982 to operate several narrow gauge railways inside ...
and
Metro Bilbao The Bilbao metro ( es, Metro de Bilbao, eu, Bilboko metroa) is a rapid transit system serving the city of Bilbao and the region of Greater Bilbao. Lines 1 and 2 have a "Y" shape, as they transit both banks of the river Ibaizabal and then combi ...
- in the Basque Country (there is a connecting line between the FEVE and EuskoTren networks in BilbaoOpenstreetmap :File:FEVE-EuskoTren connection in colour.png) * FGC - around
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
* FGV - in the
Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...
* SFM - on the island of
Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...
*
Metro de Madrid The Madrid Metro (Spanish: ''Metro de Madrid'') is a rapid transit system serving the city of Madrid, capital of Spain. The system is the 14th longest rapid transit system in the world, with a total length of 293 km (182 mi). Its gro ...
- in the city of
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
.


See also

*
Transport in Spain Transport in Spain is characterised by an extensive network of roads, railways (including the world's second longest high speed rail network), rapid transit, air routes, and ports. Its geographic location makes it an important link between Eu ...
*
History of rail transport in Spain :''This article is part of the history of rail transport by country series'' The history of rail transport in Spain begins in the 19th century. In 1848, a railway line between Barcelona and Mataró was inaugurated,
*
Narrow gauge railways in Portugal Portugal formerly had several hundred kilometres of narrow-gauge railways, but by 2010 only two lines were still in operation – the Vouga line and the Metro de Mirandela. The lines were operated by Comboios de Portugal and maintained by REFE ...


References


External links


RENFE FEVE website
(Spanish)
Transcantábrico website
(English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Feve Railway companies of Spain Regional rail in Spain Metre gauge railways in Spain Renfe 1965 establishments in Spain