The Class 453 returned to service on Thursday on Madrid’s Cercanías network after completing the verification and commissioning (“puesta a punto”) process announced by Renfe. Specifically, unit 453‑001 is now operating on line C‑1.
Following several serious reliability failures in the first days of service, the state operator confirmed that in‑service units had been temporarily withdrawn to carry out adjustments described as a commissioning tune‑up. Test runs have also been performed using some units to identify faults and implement improvements across the fleet.
Work carried out includes software updates and modifications to various train systems, notably the braking system, communications equipment and the SIV (Passenger Information Systems).
Renfe states that these interventions are part of the standard procedure during the entry into service of newly built rolling stock and do not imply withdrawal of the class. It is worth recalling that well‑established fleets such as the Civia and Class 114 also experienced a number of complications during their commissioning phases.
The company is working with Stadler to apply the improvements both to units already delivered and to those that will be progressively incorporated over the coming months.