Spanish national railways ban e-scooters on board

The prohibition won’t apply to e-bikes, though

Spain’s national railway operator – Renfe – has decided to ban electric scooters, unicycles, and other battery-powered mobility devices from its trains, following concerns about their safety and the potential risks for onboard fires. The new measure will come into effect on 12 December.

The prohibition, however, will not apply to electric bicycles or personal mobility devices for disabled people.

According to the board of directors of the railway company, the measure is necessary to ensure better safety for the passengers on board their trains, echoing measures implemented in other Spanish cities and European countries.

Renfe is not playing with fire

If anything, Renfe is following up on a trend that has been taking sway over public transit operators in the past couple of years.

For instance, in 2021, Sevilla restricted the entry of electric scooters on its metro system during peak hours on weekdays. Catalonia followed suit in February this year after a scooter explosion on a regional FGC train service in November 2022. 

Likewise, the Madrid regional authorities have prohibited the transportation of electric scooters on the city metro and regional buses since 4 November. An e-scooter exploded and damaged a metro car on 17 October there.

Similar bans exist in Ireland and in the London and Hamburg metro networks.

Renfe operates a variety of high-speed, long-distance, regional and local train services, such as Ave, Avlo, Alvia, Avant, Euromed, Intercity, Regionales and Cercanias. The e-scooter ban will apply to all of these subsidiaries.

According to 20 Minutos, once the prohibition enters into force Renfe staff will have the right to force any passenger to leave a train if they are found to have brought a micromobility device with an electric battery on board.