The accident of a train in the tunnel that connects the Madrid stations of Atocha and Chamartín, an infrastructure that took almost two decades to be operational since it began to be planned, has once again highlighted railway investments, both in the road network and on trains. Even more so after a few summer months marked by incidents throughout Spain, by delays and breakdowns in different parts of the territory.
A situation that has entered fully into the political debate, with accusations crossed about how, when and how much is being invested and whether the projected funds are sufficient to keep a railway network operational and modernized that covers both high speed and conventional medium and long distance, without forgetting the Cercanías network. In fact, the latter has become a frequent throwing weapon. For example, the Community of Madrid has criticized the actions of the central government but, at the same time, does not ask for the transfer of its management. Something that the Generalitat of Catalonia has demanded, although it has yet to be specified.
The two axes to know how investment is being made in trains and infrastructure depend on two public companies. On the one hand, Adif, the manager of the railway network. On the other hand, from Renfe, the state company that operates throughout the territory regardless of whether it is high speed, Cercanías, medium distance or trains that have a different metric gauge, such as FEVE, renamed Renfe Cercanías Ancho Métrico. The private operators, Ouigo and Iryo, only operate certain high-speed lines.
The planned investments
If you look at the two state companies, the investments projected or underway exceed 29.2 billion euros. Of them, 24,000 million correspond to Adif. Others, 5,235 are from Renfe which, among others, pick up the new Cercanías trains that have to start operating in 2025.
As for the network manager, this is the investment projected for the period between 2022 and 2026. Specifically, for the biennium 2025 and 2026 it will amount to more than 9,000 million. For the entire five-year period, practically half of the expenditure, just over 12.1 billion, is allocated to the conventional network, the freight network and the Cercanías network. There, they include everything from the renewal of the network itself, to signaling and electrification. Also changes in merchandise, for example, logistical connections with the ports of Sagunt or A Coruña.
On the other hand, there are the investments in Adif High Speed, close to 12,000 million for the entire period, of which 7,000 must be executed when this year ends. In this section are the new lines from Cantabria, Euskadi, Navarra, Almería or Extremadura. Of course, the forecasts regarding these are at very different rates because, for example, for the high speed between Madrid and Extremadura there are still sections where the route has not been decided. This figure also includes the remodeling of stations, as is currently happening with Chamartín or the future La Sagrera station in Barcelona; or the Mediterranean and Atlantic corridors.
Investments in Renfe go on the sidelines. The public operator contemplates an investment of around 5,235 million euros in the coming years for the purchase of trains (more than 400) and locomotives (26 heads). Most of that figure goes to Cercanías and Rodalies. For example, the purchase of 280 trains from Alstom and Stadler. They will amount to more than 3.1 billion euros. Of these convoys, 225 will have a length of 100 meters and another 55 are considered high capacity, because they are 200 meters long. The forecast is that these trains will begin to arrive at the stations in 2025, but progressively until 2028.
The reality is that train acquisitions do not happen overnight and sometimes, some operations that are believed to be an immediate solution end up leading to problems. This has been seen with the latest Talgos that have come into operation, those of the S106 series, also known as Avril, an acronym for High Speed Light Independent Wheel and which have involved an investment of more than 780 million.
In 2016, the Government of Mariano Rajoy, with Íñigo de la Serna as Minister of Development, put out to tender about thirty trains that were awarded to Talgo. Then, it was justified that it was the most economical offer and that it would mean a saving of 1,000 million euros. Twenty of these trains came into operation in spring for high speed between Madrid, Galicia and Asturias. However, the majority have experienced problems and breakdowns, which has led Renfe to demand financial compensation from Talgo.
“Make up for lost time”
One thing is the planned investment and another is the executed one. That is, if what was promised in the last legislatures has been fulfilled. And, again, this spending has entered the political debate. In his last appearance in the Senate –precisely to talk about the railway situation–, the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, assured that he is now trying to “make up for lost time.”
“Many of the questions that you are going to raise have the answer in the investments made between 2012 and 2018, years after the crisis, in which the development of key sectors of our country was reduced, including infrastructure and transportation,” he argued in the Upper House. “We have worked to reverse this situation and make up for lost time, enabling a budget 72% higher than that of the last governments that approved budgets prior to us. For example, 2018 budget, 4,310 million; compared to the 7,397 million in the extended year 2023, tripling the investment in conventional and suburban railways with more than 2,200 million euros,” he listed.
Regarding what was executed, the investment materialized in the railway network exceeded 3,990 million euros in 2023, while in 2016 it remained at 1,694 million. This year, until August, there have been more than 3,000 million. As for Renfe, taking the same years as a reference, in 2023 565 million were executed, more than double the 241 that were executed in 2016. Also with respect to the operator, in the three-year period between 2014 and 2016, 543 million were executed. In 2021 alone, 645 million were executed, according to figures published by the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility.
Despite all the problems, the railway network, specifically the high-speed one, steals customers from the plane when new lines are launched. “Where high-speed routes are being put in place, a drop is noticeable, but in the end it is natural that many passengers, those who fly point to point, prefer to take the train,” explained this Tuesday at a press conference, the president of the Association. of Airlines (ALA), Javier Gándara. Most of those who prefer to take these routes by plane use it because they have to make a stopover for international flights. “The companies’ schedules, in many cases, stop operating some of those routes or adapt the offer to be able to operate connections with their hub, to make them coincide with their long-haul flights,” he acknowledged.
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