Fernando Puente

SPAIN's high-speed rail infrastructure manager Adif-AV this week opened the tendering process for a €313.8m contract to install, commission and maintain signalling on the Madrid-Portugal high-speed line.

LOSSES at Renfe's passenger subsidiary Renfe Travellers increased by 15% to €57m in the first quarter of 2014 after a 26% rise in expenditure to €163m caused primarily by an increase in track access charges by Spanish infrastructure manager Adif.

THE board of Adif, Spain's infrastructure manager, has placed a €54m contract with Siemens Rail Automation and Thales to equip the Pajares bypass with Spain's Asfa ATP system, ERTMS and associated signalling and telecommunications equipment.

NATIONAL Express subsidiary Alsa last week announced it has been granted a license by the Spanish Ministry of Public Works and Transport to operate passenger trains on the Spanish main line network.

SPAIN's transport minister Mrs Ana Pastor this week unveiled further details of the liberalisation process initiated in February 2013 and confirmed the government's intention to kick-off the partial privatisation of the freight branch of Renfe in the next few months.

BASQUE metre-gauge operator EuskoTren has issued an international call for tenders for 28 emus, which will be used on Bilbao metro Line 3 and will also replace some of the oldest trains in its current fleet.

SPANISH infrastructure manager Adif last week approved the tendering of a contract to design, install and maintain signaling and telecommunications equipment on the Madrid-Galicia high-speed rail line, with a total value of €640.8m.

SPAIN's Ministry of Transport this week confirmed a 20% increase in ridership on Renfe's AVE high-speed services during 2013, which saw passenger numbers swell to 14.5 million passengers, fuelled by the introduction of a flexible fares fare policy and the opening of two new high-speed lines during the fiscal year.

SPAIN is planning to install only single track on most new sections of high-speed line in a bid to reconcile ambitious plans to extend the reach of the standard-gauge network with the budgetary restraints imposed by the economic crisis.

THE Spanish Government last week approved the splitting of Adif into two separate bodies in order to avoid the infrastructure manager's spiralling debt from being included in the national debt, in accordance with recent changes to the European System of National and Regional Accounts (ESA 2010).