Fernando Puente

FIVE manufacturers have submitted bids to Spanish national train operator Renfe for a contract to supply a fleet of high-speed trains after a previous tender was abandoned following a judicial appeal by Bombardier.

THIS week the European Commission (EC) ordered Adif, the Spanish infrastructure manager, to return €141m to the government that it was granted for the construction of a high-speed railway test centre in southern Spain designed to be used for trains at speeds up to 520km/h because it was never built.

SPAIN's high-speed rail infrastructure manager Adif-AV registered a net loss of €361.3m in 2015, a 67% increase on the previous year and 28% over its own fiscal year budget, according to an official income statement presented to the Spanish government.

FOUR companies will finally compete for a framework contract to supply and maintain a fleet of up to 30 very high-speed trains in the first open tender launched by Spanish national train operator Renfe in more than a decade.

INTERNATIONAL passenger services between Spain and France will be "guaranteed" despite the critical financial situation of the high-speed line's concessionaire, according to Spain's minister of development and public works, Mrs Ana Pastor.

With several line extensions set to open this year and further projects underway, high-speed rail remains the major priority for the Spanish government's infrastructure budget. Fernando Puente charts recent developments and the next steps in Spain's high-speed story.

THE Barcelona metro network was extended by 20km on February 12 with the opening of the southern section of the automated Line 9 from Zona Universitària to El Prat International Airport, 10 years after construction began on the €2.9bn project.

A consortium of Alstom, CAF, and Siemens has begun the work to install ERTMS on the Atlantic Corridor in Galicia, the 155km-long high-speed line which connects A Coruña with Santiago and Vigo.

SPANISH national train operator Renfe has shortlisted six manufacturers for a framework contract to supply and maintain a new fleet of high-speed trains.