SPANISH infrastructure managers Adif and Adif AV spent a combined €1.9bn on infrastructure projects in 2020, a rise of 7% compared with 2019 despite the year’s unfavourable economic climate.  

Both infrastructure managers benefitted from a substantial rise in European Union (EU) funding in 2020 with €649m provided through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), compared with €109.4m in 2019.  

Investment is expected to rise substantially this year, and the two infrastructure managers announced plans in November 2020 to invest a combined €4.86bn in national infrastructure in 2021.

Adif 

Investment by conventional network manager Adif rose by 8.8% to €649m - the highest level of investment in Spain’s conventional network since the 2007-2010 Contract Programme with the government.  

This included upgrades worth €96.6m to fund the conversion of the Castellbisbal - Tarragona section of Trans-European Transport Network TEN-T Mediterranean Corridor from 1668mm gauge to standard gauge. Work was split between the Sagunto - Teruel - Zaragoza section (€25.2m); €21.8m for the renovation of the Mérida - Puertollano line; €20.9m for signalling between Illescas and Navalmoral; €20m to support ongoing electrification of the Salamanca - Fuentes de Oñoro line; €18.3m to renovate the Bobadilla - Algeciras line; and €16m for improvements to stations. 

Adif also dedicated substantial funds to the refurbishment of regional networks - most notably €130.7m for the Catalonian rail network. This covered repairs to infrastructure, much of which was caused by storms (€80.9m); the reconfiguration of tracks at Barcelona Sants station (€8.3m); the implementation of ERTMS and improvements to GSM-R (€6m); new electrical substations (€7.2m); and renovations to the line between Maçanet and Caldes de Malavella (€1.5m). 

The Madrid region received €27m for projects including the renewal of track and electrification in the Atocha - Recoletos - Chamartín tunnel (€15.4m); improvements to Recoletos station (€2.6m), and improvements to accessibility at Vicálvaro station (€2m).  

Other regional investments included €7.8m in Valencia, €7.8m in Asturias and €9.6m in Cantabria. 

Adif AV 

High-speed network infrastructure manager Adif AV invested €1.3bn in 2020, representing a 6% increase year-on-year compared with 2019.  

The main volume of investment was the €277.8m allocated to the under-construction Madrid - Galicia high-speed line (HSL), which primarily supported track bed and track installation works, as well as electrification and signalling, which enabled commissioning of the Zamora - Pedralba de la Pradería section in October last year. 

The Madrid - Extremadura high-speed line project received €140.8m in 2020 to support signalling and telecommunications work, as well as the completion of track and track bed work on the Plasencia - Cáceres - Mérida - Badajoz section. 

The Vitoria - Bilbao - San Sebastián high-speed line was the beneficiary of €132.7m of funding for the completion of track bed work; €109.1m was allocated to work on the Pajares Bypass, primarily for track works; €80.6m was for the Levante line, particularly work on the La Encina - Xátiva - Valencia and Monforte del Cid - Murcia sections; €40.8m was for the continuation of the works between Murcia and Almería; and €31.6m was allocated to the Zaragoza - Pamplona line. 

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