The State Railway Safety Agency (AESF), the public body responsible for regulating and inspecting Spain's state-competent railway system, has failed to meet its annual plans for auditing safety management systems since 2020. The agency consistently missed targets for conducting total or partial audits of network managers, primarily the Railway Infrastructure Administrator (Adif) and Adif High Speed (AV). This pattern of non-compliance is documented in the organization's successive annual accounts and has gained significant relevance following a catastrophic train accident on Wednesday in Urda, Toledo. The disaster resulted in a provisional toll of at least 69 deaths and over 200 injuries.
According to initial investigations, the Urda accident began with a technical failure in the LZB safety system on the Madrid-Sevilla high-speed line, followed by at least three errors committed by an Adif operator at Atocha. This incident marks the second high-speed tragedy in Spain within nine months, following the Adamuz disaster in Córdoba where 46 people died. The latest accounts submitted by the AESF to the General State Audit Office reveal a new deviation in the audits scheduled for 2025. While the agency planned to conduct 27 total or partial safety management system audits for Adif that year, it only completed or was executing 19 actions, representing just 70.37% of the target.
In contrast, the AESF exceeded its expectations regarding railway companies. With 35 companies holding valid licenses in 2025, the agency performed 31 total or partial audits of their safety management systems, far surpassing the initial plan of 12. However, the shortfall in auditing infrastructure managers has been a recurring issue since 2020. The deviations were particularly severe in 2021, when the AESF executed only six audits, covering less than 43% of the planned total. Compliance rates remained low in subsequent years: 46% in 2020, 53.3% in 2022, 74.19% in 2023, and 75.76% in 2024. The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, to which the AESF is attached, did not respond to inquiries regarding these discrepancies.
The agency has repeatedly warned in its annual reports about a high workload and significant staff turnover. Since 2019, the AESF has initiated nearly 7,000 sanctioning proceedings and issued approximately 6,000 new driver licenses. Despite a 31% increase in its workforce since 2020, the agency ended 2025 with only 129 employees, including one senior official, 117 civil servants, and nine labor contract workers. The AESF attributes delays to the unpredictable nature of demand for authorizations and a slow pace in filling vacant positions, which affects the availability of personnel needed to carry out its competencies.
Among the planned audits for 2025 was the supervision of Adif's specific plan regarding track deformations and rail breaks, an action that remains on the agenda for 2026. While the agency fell short on formal audits, it conducted 29 accompaniments, cabin visits, and inspections with infrastructure managers in the last fiscal year, exceeding its targets by 148%. The AESF, which began operations in 2015, oversees infrastructure, rolling stock, circulation, and personnel, while also granting or revoking licenses for companies and drivers. Prior to 2018, the agency did not detail audit deviations, limiting its reporting to visits and accompaniments with Adif.
Sources: elDiario.es.