EU Prosecutors Search Spanish Rail Agencies Over Madrid-Seville Line

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), the EU body that investigates crimes against the bloc’s budget, carried out investigative measures in Madrid at three Spanish state bodies over possible fraud involving EU money for the Madrid-Seville high-speed railway. The searches covered ADIF (Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias, the state company that manages Spain’s rail tracks), AESF (Agencia Estatal de Seguridad Ferroviaria, the state rail safety agency) and the Court of Auditors, according to an EPPO statement reported by The Local Spain.

The probe concerns EU funds set aside to renovate and upgrade safety, signalling and communications systems on that line, the same route where a deadly crash happened in October.

What the EPPO is looking into

In its statement, the EPPO said the measures followed the opening of an investigation into possible fraud affecting the EU funds for the line’s upgrade work. Spanish police are supporting the investigation, the prosecutors said.

The EPPO described the public confirmation as exceptional and said it was made because of high public interest. It added that no further details would be released at this stage, so the amounts involved, the people or companies under suspicion and the period under review have not been disclosed.

The crash near Urda

The October accident took place outside the village of Urda, around 130 kilometres (80 miles) south of Madrid. A train run by Renfe, Spain’s state-owned rail operator, crashed into the back of a stationary train belonging to Iryo, a private Spanish rail company, according to The Local Spain.

The outlet described it as one of the worst rail disasters in Europe this century. The accident has also overshadowed Spain’s general election, which is due in November.

An earlier probe on the same track

This is the second investigation touching the same stretch of the line. European prosecutors said a similar investigation had already been opened in March, after another accident in the southern region of Andalusia that killed 46 people.

The reports do not make clear how the two investigations relate to each other, or whether the March probe has produced any findings so far.

What it means for rail passengers in Spain

The investigation centres on whether EU money meant to modernise safety, signalling and communications systems on the Madrid-Seville line was misused. Prosecutors have not said whether it bears on what caused either crash.

For people living in Barcelona and elsewhere in Spain, the case adds to wider worries about the rail network. The Local Spain reported separately that Spain has introduced new safety rules as public trust in the rail system has fallen to a low point.

ADIF runs the tracks across the national network and AESF oversees rail safety, so the searches reach two of the main bodies behind Spain’s trains. Their responses were not reported.

What happens next

The EPPO has said it will not release more information for now. Any charges or findings would come later in the investigation, and no date has been given.

Source: The Local Spain