Sacyr and Coxabengoa are competing for the contract for the maintenance of Adif’s railway electrical installations valued at 328 million euros. Specifically, they have submitted offers through their subsidiaries Sacyr Ferroviarias and CA Infraestructuras T&I, respectively, for the preventive and corrective maintenance and auxiliary works of the overhead contact line (catenary) and traction substations of the conventional gauge railway network.
This is stated in the certificate of offers presented consulted by La Información. However, they are not the only ones who will fight for the tender. There are seven Temporary Business Unions (UTE) that are on the shortlist of candidates and among them is also the company chaired by Manuel Manrique together with Comsa Instalaciones y Sistemas Industriales. In addition, the company formed by Elecnor Servicios y Proyectos, Electren and Syneox Rail stands out. There are no limitations on the lots or on the presentation of offers, or on the award.
The receipt of offers was open until April 1 at 10:00 a.m. and the contract, with an execution period of 36 months and with the possibility of extension of up to 24 months, is distributed in six lots, corresponding to the geographical areas Center, Northwest, South, East, Northeast and North.
9,200 kilometers of catenary and 341 electrical substations
The works will serve to maintain the conventional railway network, which has more than 9,200 kilometers of catenary and 341 electrical substations. Electrification facilities constitute an essential element of the railway infrastructure and maintenance work is key to keeping these elements in an optimal state of reliability and availability, so that railway operation is carried out in safe conditions.
In this way, the contract contemplates preventive maintenance activities, which include scheduled tasks to maintain the operability and availability of the facilities and the correct state of their elements, as well as activities that derive from inspections of the facilities. For its part, corrective maintenance services refer to the resolution of incidents and repair of electrical equipment, systems and devices (a set of maneuvering, regulation and control and measurement devices, including accessories for electrical channels, used in electrical installations).
What are the installations that give light to the lines made up of?
The facilities that supply electricity to train lines are made up of overhead contact lines, electrical traction substations and high-voltage power lines to traction substations. It also provides for the supply of material to carry out maintenance activities, as well as the execution of improvement actions in the electrification installations to increase their performance.
The maintenance of these facilities is the responsibility of Adif, and is carried out mainly with its own means, for which the operator’s Conventional Network has been structured into six geographical areas called operations subdirectorates. However, in situations such as the high density of facilities in some areas or the performance of certain specific jobs, it is necessary to hire specialized companies to provide support in maintenance tasks, as detailed by the public company attached to the Ministry of Transportation. .
In this sense, a monthly maintenance monitoring meeting will be systematically scheduled. At this meeting, the progress and status of maintenance will be reported, establishing in the reports, in addition to the degree of compliance and/or deviation with respect to what was planned, an indication of the measures and means necessary to recover the established plan, for the annual cycle. Likewise, Adif, through its competent bodies, has the right to verify, as part of its powers of monitoring and control of the contract, the compliance and effectiveness of the established works, as established in the technical specifications.
The last contract of this type was awarded in 2020 to ACS, Sacyr – in alliance with Comsa -, Elecnor and Lantania. The maintenance work was for a period of three years and in this case the estimated value of the tender was 189 million euros. In the summer of last year, Sacyr also obtained 165 million euros for the works that will materialize the arrival of high speed to the southeastern region of Spain and will therefore serve to give a decisive boost to the high-speed line. Murcia-Almería speed. The action also represents a new advance of the Mediterranean Corridor and the Murcia-Almería HSR, which already has all its sections under execution or tender, except for one branch (Pulpí-Águilas).
