View source for Renfe Feve

{{Short description|Narrow gauge rail transport company of Spain}}
{{About|the Spanish railway|other uses|Feve (disambiguation)}}
{{See also|Narrow-gauge railways in Spain}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox organization <!-- [[Template:Infobox public transit]], [[Template:Infobox rail line]] or [[Template:Infobox rail company]] may be more relevant -->
| name                     = Renfe Cercanías AM
| native_name              = 
| native_name_lang         = 
| named_after              = 
| image                    = 2903Villa.JPG
| image_size               = 200px
| alt                      = 
| caption                  = R4 line train at [[Villasana de Mena]]
| logo                     = Renfe Cercanías AM.svg
| logo_size                = 
| logo_alt                 = Renfe Cercanías AM
| logo_caption             = 
| map                      = Renfe Feve (mapa).svg
| map_size                 = 200px
| map_alt                  = 
| map_caption              = Regional and commuter services
| map2                     = 
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| abbreviation             = 
| motto                    = 
| predecessor              = [[Ferrocarriles Españoles de Vía Estrecha|Ferrocarriles Españoles de Vía Estrecha (FEVE)]]
| merged                   = 
| successor                = 
| formation                = {{start date|1926|07|06|df=y}} (as EFE)<br>{{start date|1965|09|23|df=y}} (as FEVE)<br>{{start date|2013|01|01|df=y}} (merged into Renfe, as Renfe Feve)
| founder                  = 
| founding_location        = 
| extinction               = 
| merger                   = 
| dissolved                = 17 of July 2023 (most services taken away)<br>7 of October 2025 (fully)
| type                     = State-owned company
| tax_id                   = 
| registration_id          = <!-- for non-profit org -->
| status                   = 
| purpose                  = Railway operatator
| headquarters             = 
| location                 = {{Flag|Spain}}
| coords                   = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LON|display=inline,title}} -->
| region                   = 
| services                 = rail
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| language                 = 
| owner                    = [[Renfe Operadora]]
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| website                  = {{URL|renfe.com/viajeros/feve}}
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}}
{{Infobox rail line
| name                            = Renfe Feve
| other_name                      = 
| native_name                     = 
| native_name_lang                = 
| image                           = File:FEVE 3800 in Muros de Nalón.jpg
| image_width                     = 200px
| image_alt                       = 
| caption                         = Electric unit [[FEVE 3500 series|3500]], operated by FEVE, arriving at [[Muros de Nalón]] station,
on its way to [[Gijón]]
| gauge                           = {{Track gauge|1m|allk=on}}
| electrification                 = (?)
}}

[[File:Feve 2336.JPG|thumb|A FEVE Series 2300 train at [[Avilés]] in Asturias in 1977]]
'''Renfe Cercanías AM''',<ref>{{cite web |title=Cercanías AM |url=https://www.renfe.com/es/es/cercanias/cercanias-am |website=[[Renfe]] |access-date=20 October 2023 |language=es}}</ref> formerly known as '''Renfe Feve''', was a division of state-owned Spanish [[railway]] company [[Renfe Operadora]]. It transitorily operated most of Spain's {{convert|1250|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} of [[metre-gauge railway]]. This division of Renfe was previously a stand-alone company named '''FEVE''' (''[[Ferrocarriles Españoles de Vía Estrecha|Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha]],'' Spanish for "Narrow-Gauge Railways).<ref name="boeFund">{{cite journal|publisher=Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado|journal=Boletín Oficial del Estado|issue=230|date=25 September 1965|language=es|title=Decreto-ley 11/1965, de 23 de septiembre, por el que se reorganiza el Organismo autónomo «Explotación de Ferrocarriles por el Estado» que se denominará «Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha» (FEVE)|url=https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/1965/09/25/pdfs/A13102-13102.pdf|issn=0212-033X|page=13102}}</ref> On 31 December 2012, the Spanish government simplified the organization of state-owned railway companies by merging FEVE into Renfe and [[Adif]].<ref name="RTVE">{{cite news |title=Deja de existir FEVE, cuyo patrimonio de bienes y servicios se repartirá entre Renfe y Adif |url=http://www.rtve.es/noticias/20121231/deja-existir-feve-cuyo-patrimonio-bienes-servicios-se-repartira-entre-renfe-adif/594241.shtml |access-date=31 December 2012 |work=[[RTVE]] |date=31 December 2012 |language=es}}</ref> The rolling stock and the brand FEVE were transferred to Renfe (renamed "Renfe Feve"), while the infrastructure was transferred to Adif. In 2023 and 2025, the division's services were fully integrated into the other subdivisions [[Cercanías]] and [[Renfe mid distance]].

==History==
{{Main|Ferrocarriles Españoles de Vía Estrecha|Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles}}
[[File:Logo feve2.jpg|thumb|Old logo of FEVE.|50px|right]]
[[Ferrocarriles Españoles de Vía Estrecha|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]] administration in 1926 to take over failed private railways. Following the creation of [[Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles|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 ({{Track gauge|1435mm|allk=on|disp=or}},<ref>[http://www.ferropedia.es/wiki/Ferrocarril_de_Langreo Ferropedia – Compañía del Ferrocarril de Langreo en Asturias]</ref> {{Track gauge|1067mm|lk=on|disp=or}},<ref>[http://www.spanishrailway.com/2012/03/22/tranvia-de-cartagena-a-la-union/ Tranvía de Cartagena a La Unión]</ref> {{Track gauge|1000mm|disp=or}}, {{Track gauge|914mm|lk=on|disp=or}} & {{Track gauge|750mm|lk=on|disp=or}}), where the existing concession holders had been unable to be profitable. Most were [[Track gauge conversion|converted]] to {{Track gauge|1000mm|allk=on}} (if not already built in that gauge). However, from 1978 onwards, with the introduction of regional [[devolution]] under the new Spanish [[constitution]], FEVE also began transferring responsibility for a number of its operations to the new regional governments. This happened in [[Catalonia]] ([[Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya|FGC]]) in 1979, in a portion of the [[Basque Country (autonomous community)|Basque]] ([[Euskotren]]) network in 1982, in the [[Valencian Community]] ([[Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana|FGV]]) in 1986, and with the [[Majorca]]n Railways ([[Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca|SFM]]) in 1994. That did not however occur in the [[Region of Murcia]], where the narrow-gauge railway network remained under FEVE control. The above-mentioned EFE (Explotación de Ferrocarriles por el Estado) also operated the [[Line 10 (Madrid Metro)|Carabanchel – Chamartín de la Rosa suburbano]] railway in the city of [[Madrid]]. That railway became part of the [[Madrid Metro]] when control of that line was transferred to the [[Community of Madrid]] in the early-1980s, later integrated as the present-day [[Line 10 (Madrid Metro)|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, effectively still working separately.<ref name="RTVE"/> This led to underfunding and ignoration issues that culminated in the order of new trains that would not have fitted in the metric gauge network and the order being paused for years. This prompted Renfe to finish the merger and integrate Renfe Feve into the other subdivisions [[Cercanías]] and [[Renfe mid distance]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Alonso |first=Rubén |date=2023-02-06 |title=Por qué los trenes no caben por los túneles y qué pasará ahora con la nueva flota de Cercanías de Cantabria y Asturias |url=https://www.eldiario.es/cantabria/ultimas-noticias/trenes-no-caben-tuneles-pasara-ahora-nueva-flota-cercanias-cantabria-asturias_1_9927762.html |access-date=2025-10-11 |website=ElDiario.es |language=es}}</ref>

==FEVE network==
{{Main|Ferrocarriles Españoles de Vía Estrecha}}
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 and [[Bay of Biscay]] coastline, which stretches from [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]] in the northwest, through [[Asturias]] and [[Cantabria]] to the Basque Country (with a branch extending into [[Castile and León]]). 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 {{convert|1192|km|abbr=on}}<ref>[http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/feve/conocenos.html Renfe FEV website]</ref> of track, of which {{convert|316|km|abbr=on}} were [[Railway electrification|electrified]].
[[File:FEVE map.png|thumb|500px|center|FEVE lines in green, [[Euskotren Trena]] in yellow and broad gauge lines in red. Transcantábrico line goes all the way from Hendaye to León and Ferrol.]]
[[File:Transcantabrico.jpg|thumb|''Transcantábrico'' in [[Liérganes]] station]]

===''Transcantábrico'' line===
An exclusive tourist service operated by FEVE is a {{convert|650|km|mi|abbr=on}}<ref>[http://www.maint.com/greenspain/ greenspain] extract: "The remaining 650&nbsp;km to the Atlantic coast are on the network of the FEVE" (Op the Google Map (See [https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zEoWHo7PGBKA.kfsyCcK5oYo4]) the distance is calculated at 641&nbsp;km, estimated margin of error 0,5%).</ref> long line, the ''[[Transcantábrico]]'', which runs along the entire length of Spain's north coast, and has connected the cities of [[San Sebastián]], [[Bilbao]], [[Santander, Spain|Santander]], [[Oviedo]] and [[Ferrol, Spain|Ferrol]] to [[León, Spain|Leon]] 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===
[[File:FEVE Santander - Lierganes.jpg|thumb|FEVE unit from Santander to Liérganes]]
Renfe Feve also operated a range of {{lang|es-ES|cercanías}} or commuter services. The main commuter area is [[Cercanías Asturias#Lines|Cercanías Asturias]], where the dense five-line FEVE network was semi-integrated with the RENFE lines and works effectively as a regional metro system. When FEVE was integrated into Renfe, the systems stayed separated for over 10 years until the fat train scandal.

The Bilbao area has a line running from [[Bilbao-Concordia railway station|Bilbao's Concordia station]] to the town of [[Balmaseda]], calling at local villages and settlements on its way through [[Biscay]], as well as the main towns of Sodupe, [[Aranguren]], and [[Zalla]].

Two commuter lines begin at [[Santander railway station]] and terminate at [[Liérganes]] and [[Cabezón de la Sal]].

In southern Spain, Renfe Feve operates the historic [[Cartagena–Los Nietos line]].
[[File:Trenfeve.jpg|thumb|FEVE [[diesel multiple unit]] near [[Mieres]]]]

==See also==
* [[Transport in Spain]]
* [[History of rail transport in Spain]]
* [[Narrow-gauge railways in Portugal]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Renfe Cercanías AM}}
* [https://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/feve/index.html RENFE FEVE website] (Spanish)
* [http://www.eltranscantabricogranlujo.com/en/ Transcantábrico website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140115145336/http://www.eltranscantabricogranlujo.com/en/ |date=15 January 2014 }} (English)

{{Rail transport in Spain}}
{{Bilbao Transport}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feve}}
[[Category:Railway companies of Spain]]
[[Category:Regional rail in Spain]]
[[Category:Metre-gauge railways in Spain]]
[[Category:Renfe]]
[[Category:1965 establishments in Spain]]