Spain's deadly rail accidents prompt maintenance investment debate

Highlights:

• Rising passenger numbers puts strain on high-speed rail network
• Spain's maintenance spending lags behind European peers, despite network expansion
• Reports of rail problems and accidents have increased since 2015
• Spain says investment in maintenance up 58% since 2017-2018

A series of accidents in one week on Spain's railways, including one of the deadliest in Europe, has left the country reeling and put the spotlight on whether investment to maintain the network is keeping pace with surging passenger demand.

Nearly 40 million passengers used a high-speed train in Spain in 2024, almost double the 2019 number and pushing the overall use of Spain's railway system to a record 549 million, according to data from the competition authority.

However, the high usage on Europe's largest high-speed rail network means more wear and tear, and data, reports and experts point to a focus on expanding the system, rather than on investment in maintenance, which is lower than in other large European countries.

Network is a victim of its own success

"Spain's high-speed rail is dying from its own success. It's under greater strain, and it's starting to break down," said Salvador Garcia-Ayllon, a professor at Universidad Politecnica de Cartagena.

A high-speed collision in the southern Andalusia region last Sunday killed 45 people, while two days later a driver was killed and four passengers seriously injured after a containment wall fell on the track after heavy rains near Barcelona derailing a commuter train.

A second train also derailed near Barcelona due to a rock on the line, while a fourth collided with a crane arm in southeastern Spain, causing minor injuries to six passengers.

Preliminary findings from the accident in Andalusia showed a fracture in the rail appeared to have occurred before the train derailed, rail accident investigating body CIAF said on Friday.

"I accept and acknowledge that there should be a debate on whether it is necessary to increase the amount allocated to maintenance," Transport Minister Oscar Puente said in his first press conference after the accident.

"What I do ask is that it be separated from the accident," which occurred on a stretch of track that was renovated last May and inspected on 7 January.

Maintenance spending lags European peers

European Commission data shows Spain's maintenance investment in its roughly 4,000 km (2,485 miles) of high-speed lines has lagged large European peers, despite an unmatched drive to expand the network.

Spain spent an average of about 1.5 billion euros ($1.76 billion) a year from 2018 to 2022 on its high-speed network, more than any other country.

However, the vast majority went to new infrastructure with only some 16% earmarked for maintenance, renewal and upgrades.

That compares with between 34% to 39% spent by France, Germany and Italy, whose networks are far less extensive, according to the Commission data.

Maintenance spending on Spain's high-speed network needs to increase to 150,000 euros per km from the current 110,000 euros, according to estimates by Jose Trigueros, president of the Association of Roads and Civil Engineers, who said the maintenance budget also needs to be higher for conventional lines.

The main Spanish train drivers' union SEMAF called a three-day nationwide strike to protest against what it said is "the constant deterioration of the railway system" and to demand guarantees of safety and maintenance.

In an August letter to state rail infrastructure operator Adif, which was seen by Reuters, SEMAF had warned of severe wear and tear on several lines, including the stretch where the two trains crashed on Sunday.

"It is a vicious circle. If there are defects in the track, they are transmitted to the train, and defects in the train are also transmitted to the track," Diego Martin, the union's general secretary, told Reuters.

Reports of problems show sharp increase

Problems such as deterioration and breaks in the rails increased from 440 in 2015 to 716 in 2024, according to official data. Accidents, including derailments, also rose in the same period to 57 from 42.

The government said that infrastructure issues and accidents on the Spanish network are proportionally below the EU's average and in line with countries such as Germany and France.

The government also pointed to a significant increase in investment. Spending on railway infrastructure has tripled and maintenance per km has increased by 58% to 71,000 euros last year since 2018, when the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez took office.

But a 2024 annual report into Spanish infrastructure by Fundacion BBVA and Ivie showed that the investment was still well below levels before Spain's financial crisis that began in 2008, when adjusted for inflation.

Gross investment in rail infrastructure in 2024 was less than a third of the roughly 11 billion euros at its 2009 peak, the report said.

The decline since 2009 was so steep that starting in 2012 it was not enough to cover depreciation, namely keeping existing facilities in adequate condition, said Matilde Mas, an Ivie researcher who worked on the report.

Investment only returned to a steady rate of increase in 2021.

Like a Ferrari, Spain's world-class rail system needs regular upkeep, said Garcia-Ayllon.

"The expensive thing about a Ferrari is not just buying it, it's maintaining it," he said.