EU launches new investigation after rail accident in Spain

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has launched a new investigation into fraud following a train accident in Spain that killed 69 people, the EPPO said.

According to the supervisory authority, the fraud may be related to the use of EU funds allocated for the reconstruction and modernization of security, alarm and communication systems on the high-speed Madrid-Sevilla railway line, where the collision occurred.

In March, prosecutors launched an investigation into possible fraud with EU funds destined to service the line.

The accident occurred on October 28 near Urda in the province of Toledo on the Madrid-Sevilla line. Renfe's AVE train crashed from behind into a stalled Iryo train, two carriages of which derailed and fell off a mound. 69 people died, about 200 were injured.

The possible cause of the accident, the Minister of transport of Spain Oscar Puente called the failure of the automated traffic control system LZB. Later, the head of the Ministry of Transport resigned.

As part of the investigation, the EPPO conducted investigative activities in the Spanish Railway Infrastructure Authority (ADIF), the State Agency for Rail Transport Safety (AESF) and the Court of Accounts.

Members of the Spanish Civil Guard arrived. El País said it had requested documents to establish whether EU funds had been embezzled in several high-speed line maintenance works in recent years. These projects were co-financed by NextGeneration EU and the European Regional Development Fund (Feder).

They also seized the materials of three tenders totaling more than €136 million, El Pais writes. The first proposed the replacement of the LZB security system, which prevents overtaking two trains, with a more modern ERTM system, as well as the modernization of signal and stationary telecommunications systems on the line. It was signed with Thales Spain GRP for about €94 million, but in July 2024 was transferred to a unit of the Japanese conglomerate Hitachi Rail.

The second tender concerns a contract for the reconstruction of 63 of the 319 existing switches on the Madrid-Sevilla line, worth €21 million. It was concluded with a joint venture that included Ferrovial Construcción, Grupo Azvi, Convensa and Agrupación Guinovart. The third contact, which received the Spanish division of Thales in the amount of €21.5 million, involved the reconstruction of the crossroad chains - a system that detects the presence of a train on a certain section of the track.