Adif has announced that it has received four requests for capacity to provide passenger services, including on Spain’s HSR network, as of December 14, 2020, under the market liberalisation process.
The deadline for submitting applications ended on October 31.
The period of analysis of the requests by an appraisal commission begins, in accordance with a planned procedure aimed at guaranteeing the transparency, objectivity and non-discriminatory access of the railway network of general interest (RFIG) candidates. The commission is made up of three teams of Adif technicians, focused on the administrative, financial and technical evaluation of applications.
The analysis will be based on four components which includes administrative compliance, financial capacity, technical capacity and compatibility between requests.
In December, the Adif AV Board will issue the resolution determining the winning candidates to establish framework capacity agreements. This resolution will be subject to the prior communication and approval of the framework agreements by the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC).
The signing of the agreements must be carried out within a period of less than 3 months from the resolution, being scheduled to be before March 15, 2020.
The introduction of the new operators in the provision of rail passenger services will contribute to a more intensive and efficient use of the network and, consequently, to greater sustainability of Adif and Adif Alta Velocidad and of the entire railway system.
In April, Adif announced the liberalisation plan which includes three packages, depending on the number of daily services and trains. The packages envisage three main routes. The plan would determine a 60% increase in high-speed rail capacity, with a number of daily trains increasing from currently 119 to 189.
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