Catalan engineers urge to refound Adif with four-year technical mandates

It is not just a problem with the signaling system and a control center overwhelmed by excessive workload. For the Col legi d'Enginyers de Camins, Canals i Ports de Catalunya, there is a fundamental issue that concerns the governance of the public company responsible for managing the infrastructure.

“Adif has had seven presidents in 14 years, there is no company that can withstand this, neither in this sector nor in any other,” says Pere Calvet, dean of the school. Because it is not just the president, every time the leadership is replaced, the general directors and senior officials of the company are also changed, changing long-term priorities and decisions. It is a criticism that in this case he directs at Adif, but that he considers also applicable to Renfe.

In that sense, the dean of Catalan engineers urges to “refound Adif” under standards of professionalism in which technical rigor is prioritized in the selection of executives over politicians. And furthermore, that they do not assume short terms, but rather that they be in office for a minimum of four years to be able to develop projects with a certain stability and the capacity for long-term projection, even more so taking into account that this period of time in railway calendars is short.

So that it is not something partisan, Calvet believes that "a State pact should be reached to give solid mandates, of four years, to whoever assumes the responsibility of taking charge of a public company of these characteristics."

The professional association of reference in this area does not remain only with the leaders and expands the focus of this new philosophy to intermediate positions and even to the teams of professionals who are in charge of the day-to-day work at the track, from the construction managers to the brigades. Again, comments regarding Adif can be perfectly transferred to Renfe.

Calvet believes that “if everyone goes separately, the company will not move forward, it is necessary for everyone to agree.” In all sectors, the same loss of experience has been occurring in recent years with the retirement of professionals who had been working in the sector for decades and who are replaced by other newcomers with high turnover.

It is the same thing denounced by the unions that have raised their voices in recent days, after the Urda accident. To reinforce the Adif circulation regulation center that is in focus, Calvet considers that the training and preparation of workers in these places considered critical should be rethought. “We need more people prepared for chaos instead of routine,” considers Calvet, critical of the six-month training given to Adif traffic regulators.

With an increasingly automated and digital system, when everything is working well, they act as supervisors, but in the event of a crisis they must take command and assume full responsibility and know how to act accordingly. And also do it under pressure and against the clock. “They must be prepared for war, not for peace,” summarizes Calvet.

Another aspect evident these days is the slowness in the execution of works such as the renewal of the signaling system, awarded in 2021 and not yet finished installing. For the dean of engineers, public competitions and their subsequent materialization “should be somewhat more agile, with more accelerated procedures to carry out the works.” And furthermore, it considers the allocations for infrastructure maintenance insufficient, considerations that today correspond to high speed, but that are also applicable to the Rodalies service.