The controversy has been going on for 15 days. In Spain, a case of trains too big for certain tunnels brought down the boss of the Spanish railways, Renfe. At the head of the railway company since June 2018, Isaias Taboas “presented” Monday “his resignation”, declared a spokeswoman for the company.
This surprise departure came on top of the resignation of the Secretary of State for Transport Isabel Pardo de Vera, also former president of the manager of the Spanish rail network Adif, also confirmed the Ministry of Transport in a short press release. Transport Minister Raquel Sanchez “expressed her gratitude” to these two leaders for “the work done in their respective roles”, the ministry said.
An order of 258 million euros
The resignations come after 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. This order, worth 258 million euros, was awarded following a call for tenders in June 2020 to the Spanish railway equipment manufacturer CAF.
It was this company, headquartered in the Basque Country, 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 trains of the wrong size were built because the manufacturer had the obligation, defined in the tender documents”, to carry out checks, assured Renfe.
Delivery delays
But this error – made public in early February, almost two years after 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 Spanish media, it could 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 has been wasted”, assures the group.
A “guilty cover-up” for the opposition
The case has sparked heated controversy in Spain, where the right-wing opposition has accused the government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of “culpable concealment” and “opacity”, less than a year before the legislative elections scheduled for the end of 2023. .
On February 6, the Ministry of Transport had already dismissed the former head of equipment management at Renfe and a senior official at Adif. The two companies have also opened a joint investigation to determine the circumstances that led to this situation, described as a “gross error” by the Minister of Transport.
