The railways in Spain played a key role until the middle of the 20th century because they contributed to the country's development as well as to investments in transport infrastructure and to its intermodal dimension. After that, a decline began fuelled by two factors, one of which originated from within, i.e. the inability of large national companies (RENFE where Spain is concerned) andalso of the State, to face the challenges of economic growth, the huge deficit, the lack of flexible response, and protectionist legislation which even further impeded its ability to react; the other factor which came from outside was the strong growth in other transport modes, especially in the road sector to meet steadily rising transport demand.
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