CATALAN Government Railways (FGC) inaugurated a 4km extension of Barcelona's standard-gauge suburban Line S1 to Terrassa on July 28.

THE Spanish Ministry of Public Works and Transport has launched construction of a new branch designed to improve connectivity between El Prat airport and the Barcelona suburban network.

TP FERRO, the concessionaire for the international high-speed line between Figueres, Spain, and Perpignan, France, which is owned by Spanish and French construction companies ACS and Eiffage, definitively filed for protection from creditors at a Girona court last week.

CATALONIA Government Railways (FGC) is to refurbish 42 class 213 EMUs used on the Llobregat - Anoia line following the presentation of the first upgraded set to Catalonia's minister for regional policy Mr Santi Vila.

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.

TALGO made its debut on the Madrid stock exchange on May 7 with shares trading at €9.25, the lower end of the price range, setting the company's total market value at €1.265bn. Only institutional investors were allowed in the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of 45% of the company's capital.

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%.

THE Spanish National Commission of Markets and Competence (Omie) has authorised Talgo to proceed with an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of 45% of its shares at a price of €9-11.5, which values the rolling stock manufacturer at between €1.232bn and €1.574bn.

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.