Renfe will allocate 1 billion euros over five years to train repair shops.

Madrid/BarcelonaRenfe will allocate €1 billion from now until 2030 to improve and expand the workshops where it repairs trains throughout Spain. Shortly after deciding to withdraw the low-cost Avlo service from the Madrid-Barcelona line due to problems with the Avril trains, the public railway operator has just presented a new Comprehensive Workshop and Maintenance Plan 2025-2030, which aims at the "modernization, digitalization, and expansion of the company's maintenance facilities." Of these €1 billion, approximately €310 million will go to Catalonia, both for the improvement of existing workshops and for the construction of new ones.

Of the bulk of the money announced, the plan provides for €420 million to go to workshops already under construction or in the project drafting phase, and for an additional €490 million to go to workshops currently under study. In addition to these amounts, €295.6 million is allocated to the Industrial Facilities Improvement Plan, with 25% of the planned actions completed.

Specifically, the plan includes interventions in all the territorial area management areas and railway complexes of Renfe Engineering and Maintenance. In this regard, the creation of ten new workshops is planned, including those in Ripoll, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Manresa, and Sant Andreu Comtal (Barcelona). 96 million euros will be allocated to these four workshops. In addition, up to twelve new workshops are being evaluated in Mataró, Granollers, Blanes, San Vicente de Calders, Sant Celoni, and Sant Feliu de Buixalleu, among others. In total, this second round will represent an investment of 215 million euros.

Furthermore, the operator has just announced the arrival of new high-capacity trains manufactured by Stadler and Alstom. "The combination of this latest-generation rolling stock with the new maintenance model will allow us to offer a more efficient, punctual, and comfortable public service," the Spanish train operator maintains.

More trains broken down than ever

The need to improve maintenance workshops and expand capacity by installing new ones became evident this summer. The heat, combined with the aging of the entire fleet of rolling stock used by the Spanish operator, This caused many convoys to fail and have to be withdrawn from circulation. during the hottest months. The causes ranged from air conditioning problems (which made transporting passengers on these trains unviable) to more serious breakdowns that caused even more delays than usual due to roadworks or cuts.

In July alone, Renfe had to cancel more than 700 trains due to one of these problems, according to data collected by TV3. Thus, while on average the operator has 20% of its trains in workshops, out of service for maintenance or repairs, this summer industry sources indicated that on some specific days more than 30% of trains were undergoing maintenance or repairs.

Union sources at the ARA (Argentine Railways) assured this summer that the lack of trains in Catalonia was so evident that some trains had even had to be transferred from Valencia and Madrid to cover certain services. The train drivers' unions also pointed out that the problem is not limited to Catalonia, but is widespread throughout Spain. They assert that fleets are failing and that, across Spain, between May and June, there were 4,000 incidents recorded on Renfe, across commuter, medium- and long-distance services.