DESPITE Spain's economic woes, the country's love affair with high-speed trains is far from over. As IRJ went to press, the candidates best positioned to win the general election on December 20 all had one thing in common: a commitment to continue the massive investment in the AVE network while promising to keep a tight control over the public deficit in 2016.

RENFE started commercial service in the Olmedo - Zamora section of the Madrid - Galicia high - speed line on December 17 with a single return service which will cut travel time for the 232km Madrid - Zamora trip by 22 minutes to 1h 33min.

SPANISH national train operator Renfe has launched its first open tender for high-speed trains in a decade, inviting bids for a €1.1bn-€2.6bn framework contract to supply up to 30 new sets with a maximum speed of 320 km/h.

THE Valladolid - Palencia - León high-speed line was opened to traffic on September 30, a day after it was officially inaugurated by Spanish prime minister Mr Mariano Rajoy and less than a week after the opening date was confirmed.

THE Spanish Ministry of Public Works and Transport confirmed this week that the 162.7km Valladolid - Palencia - León high-speed line will be officially inaugurated on September 29.

SPAIN's national operator Renfe will launch a tender in September for the supply of 40 high-speed trains under a €1.1bn framework contract to be awarded during 2016, according to its president Mr Pablo Vázquez.

IRJ at the UIC High-Speed Rail World Congress, Tokyo: CONSTRUCTION of Saudi Arabia's Haramain high-speed line is back on schedule and services will be running on the entire route within 18 months, according to Renfe, which will operate the 450km line from Mecca to Jeddah and Medina.

THE board of Spanish operator Renfe this week approved its plan to select an industrial partner for its subsidiary Renfe Freight. The Spanish train operator wants to transform its freight unit into a logistic operator in an effort to curb losses which in 2014 totalled €54m, and to increase rail's modal share, which is currently less than 5%.

SPAIN added a further section to its already extensive high-speed network on April 18, with the opening of a new section of the Atlantic Corridor between Santiago de Compostela and Vigo, in Galicia. The A Coruña – Santiago section opened in 2009 and was electrified in 2011.

Initial reports into the causes of Spain's deadliest train accident, which occurred nearly two years ago in Santiago de Compostela, cited driver error as the sole cause. But now a deeper study of the accident by a judicial investigation says lack of a functioning onboard ETCS system was a crucial factor, as Fernando Puente reports from Madrid.