SPANISH national operator Renfe has confirmed that it will delay the purchase of 30 new high-speed trains as it prioritises restoring services and providing support to the relatives of those involved in the accident that took place at Adamuz north of Córdoba on January 18.
A total of 45 people were killed and 29 seriously injured when an Iryo high-speed train derailed and was hit by a Renfe service travelling in the opposite direction. The ongoing investigation by the Rail Accident Investigation Commission (CIAF) has identified a broken rail as the possible cause of the derailment.
Procurement of the new trains was scheduled for this year. However, according to Renfe sources cited by Europa Press, the delay is directly linked to the impact of the accident, although it is not expected to be prolonged.
At the end of January, the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility said that repair work on the damaged section of the Madrid - Seville high-speed line is expected to take around 10 days to complete, but stopped short of committing to a specific date for a return to full service.
Minister of transport and sustainable mobility, Óscar Puente said at the time that it was still “not yet possible” to give a date for the restoration of high-speed services between Madrid and Andalucía “under full safety conditions,” given the scale of the accident and despite the mobilisation of all available resources.
