A failure of the railway traffic control system forced operators on Tuesday to suspend all Rodalies commuter and regional services across Catalonia for the second time in one day, affecting every line managed from the CTC at Barcelona Estació de França.
Adif has announced the initiation of legal proceedings against Siemens, the company responsible for the system’s technological support, describing the faults as “unjustified, inadmissible and intolerable.” The infrastructure manager maintains that both incidents are the direct responsibility of the supplier and that it will act “in defence of the public service.”
The CTC operates Siemens’ Controlguide Rail 9000 system, whose installation was awarded in 2015 alongside a 20-year maintenance contract.
The measures are being pursued along two tracks: the opening of judicial proceedings once the facts have been fully analysed, and the initiation of an internal inquiry to determine possible contractual penalties.
Rodalies de Catalunya has also decided to pursue legal action. Its chief executive, Òscar Playà, has instructed the company’s legal services to evaluate claims against Siemens for its role in the incidents.
The Generalitat has indicated that the root cause lies in software installed less than a year ago. This is not the first incident linked to the system, which had already recorded failures in January.
In a statement, Siemens attributed the incident to corrective maintenance work, expressed regret over the impact on services and confirmed that the system had been restored. The company stated that it was still analysing the cause without having reached any conclusions, and that it was co-operating with Adif to ensure system stability.