GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP
In Spain, the order of trains too big for tunnels leads to a series of resignations (Photo of a Renfe train taken in Madrid in 2019)
SPAIN – A size dumpling. In Spain, a case of trains too big for certain tunnels brought down the boss of the Spanish railways and the number two of the Ministry of Transport, following 15 days of embarrassing controversy for the executive.
At the head of the Renfe railway company since June 2018, Isaias Taboas ” presented “ monday 20 february “his resignation”a spokeswoman for the company told AFP.
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This surprise resignation was added to that of the Secretary of State for Transport Isabel Pardo de Vera, also former president of the manager of the Spanish rail network Adif, confirmed the Ministry of Transport in a short press release.
Transport Minister Raquel Sanchez “expressed his gratitude” to these two leaders for “the work accomplished in their respective functions”the ministry said.
The resignations come following more than two weeks of controversy related to the order of 31 trains for the rail network in northern Spain, the size of which proved to be too large for some tunnels in which they had to pass.
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Two years of delay and possible additional costs
This order, worth 258 million euros, was awarded following a call for tenders in June 2020 to the Spanish manufacturer of railway equipment CAF, competitor of the French Alstom and the German Siemens, according to Renfe.
According to the rail operator, it was this company, headquartered in the Basque Country (north), which realized in March 2021 that the dimensions provided during the call for tenders were incorrect. She then alerted the authorities even before starting the construction of the trains.
“There was never any risk that the wrong size trains would be built because the manufacturer had the obligation, defined in the tender documents”to carry out checks, assured Renfe to AFP.
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This error – made public in early February, nearly two years following the problem was detected – will nevertheless lead to delays in the delivery of the trains, which should be put into circulation in 2026 and not in 2024 as initially planned, according to the railway group.
According to Spanish media, it might also lead to additional costs due to the rise in material prices in recent months. A problem denied by Renfe: “There is no financial problem, no money was wasted”assures the group.
“Guilty Concealment” et “opacity”
The case sparked heated controversy in Spain, where the right-wing opposition accused the government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of “guilty concealment” and D’“opacity”less than a year before the legislative elections scheduled for the end of 2023.
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“You preside over a government that orders trains that do not pass through tunnels”thus ironically recently in Parliament the number two of the Popular Party (PP, right), Cuca Gamarra, evoking a « fiasco ».
This controversy had already led the Ministry of Transport to dismiss from office on February 6 the former head of equipment management at Renfe and a senior official at Adif.
It also urged Adif and Renfe to open a joint investigation to determine the circumstances that led to this situation, described as “gross mistake” by the Minister of Transport.
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Of ” never seen in 40 years »
Reacting on Monday to the resignations of the boss of Renfe and the Secretary of State for Transport, the president of the Cantabria region Miguel Angel Revilla, of the regionalist party PRC, demanded ” a compensation “ for its territory, directly affected by this erroneous train order.
“We would like clarification” the circumstances and that “Solutions are put on the table”added Adrian Barbon, socialist president of the Asturias region, also affected, on Monday before a meeting called at the Ministry of Transport.
“I reiterate my apologies but I also insist on the fact that we are working and that we are working to implement the solutions”underlined the Minister of Transport at the end of this meeting.
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“Sloppy work of this magnitude, I had never seen that in 40 years”lambasted for his part the president of the Cantabria region.
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