Page 76 - Vía Libre Special - 25 Years of Spanish High Speed Rail

SPECIAL
years of Spanish high speed rail
passenger transport service that had been
completely renewed. Since that moment the
service has never ceased to improve and customer
numbers have been consolidated; by 2016 the total
was 1,362,539.
Once again we have seen that in order to
move beyond having mere customers by turning
them into real fans or followers of a brand, it
is essential to put people first, both inside the
organization and outside. The key is to act
with confidence and team spirit, leveraging the
collaboration and involvement of all stakeholders
sharing a common goal: to meet the different
While in 1997
the Euromed
carried 355,565
passengers, a year
later that figure
had doubled.
76 Vía Libre • Special 25th Anniversary of the AVE Edition
The management
of the Euromed
service was based
on that of the
AVE, inaugurated
five years
previously, but
Renfe always tried
to ensure that it
preserved its own
identity.
needs of passengers throughout the entire travel
process (from long before they board the train to
long after they have left it).
As a video short that you can watch
on YouTube called “Fans, not customers” says:
“Customers give you money; fans give you their
heart. Customers complain; fans forgive. Customers
criticize; fans promote you. Fans cannot be bought;
fans have to be conquered”. With the cohesion
and enthusiasm of that team of pioneers, Renfe
succeeded in conquering the hearts of many people
while placing the company in a dominant position.
Pilar García Fuertes