Renfe, Spain's national high-speed rail company, reported a deficit of 111 million euros in the first half of the year, a 36% increase compared to the previous year, even though the losses were smaller than in prior years. In contrast, France's SNCF, the country's state-owned rail operator, achieved record net profits of 1.2 billion euros during the same period, largely due to the popularity of its TGV high-speed trains. Meanwhile, Italy's Trenitalia reported net losses of 200 million euros, partly because of its international operations. Passenger traffic on high-speed trains declined in both Spain and Italy. In Spain, passenger numbers fell by 13.1%, and high-speed train revenues dropped by 12% to 609 million euros, compared to about 690 million euros a year earlier. This decline was attributed to several disruptions, including the Adamuz accident, which closed rail links between Madrid and Andalusia for a month, and technical problems with the new high-speed train Avril, which led to speed restrictions on the Barcelona corridor. These incidents reportedly undermined customer confidence. In Italy, passenger numbers on high-speed trains decreased by 0.6% (in passenger/kilometer) during the same period. Renfe transported 248.2 million passengers in the first half of the year, a decrease of nearly 30 million compared to the previous year. The company noted a gradual improvement in revenues since the second quarter and expressed confidence in continuing this trend. However, the opening to competition has not led to an increase in traffic in Spain or Italy. In Spain, traffic has stagnated in 2025 compared to 2024, according to Eurostat, despite a strong rebound between 2019 and 2024 largely due to Ouigo Spain, a low-cost rail service launched by Renfe. Renfe faces competition from Iryo, a company jointly owned by Trenitalia. Meanwhile, France has seen a significant increase in traffic between 2019 and 2025. However, the price competition in the sector has led to losses for new entrants and difficulties for historical players in Italy and Spain. Ouigo Spain, despite a 43.7% increase in revenue to 235.7 million euros, still reported a deficit of 19 million euros last year, its fourth consecutive year in the red. Renfe was in the red in 2023 (63 million) and 2024 but generated a profit of 60 million last year. Oscar Puente, the Spanish minister of transport, has raised concerns about the impact of market liberalization on Renfe. He stated that while liberalization offers advantages such as lower prices and improved service, it has led to financial challenges for the national company. "We have gone from one company making 150 million euros per year to three companies losing 230 million euros, because the market does not allow such low prices," Puente said.