Adif allegedly omitted ERTMS contract extension from transparency records

Adif, Spain's state railway manager, has reportedly failed to include a contract extension for the ERTMS signaling system in its monthly transparency reports. This specific contract involves the Madrid-Sevilla high-speed line, the site of a recent train accident in Urda that resulted in 69 deaths.

While Adif publishes modifications and cancellations for thousands of contracts, the extension for the ERTMS implementation, currently being executed by Hitachi, is missing from the records updated through October 2026. The modification for this contract was signed on June 19, a date on which other contract extensions, such as those for Cycasa Canteras Y Construcciones SA, were successfully documented.

The ERTMS system is a European rail traffic management standard intended to replace older technologies like the LZB system. The implementation of this signaling upgrade is critical for improving safety on the affected line.