The Council of Ministers on Friday appointed Joaquim Hortalà i Vallvé as the new chairman of Adif and Adif Alta Velocidad, replacing Luis Pedro Marco de la Peña, who left the post following the Urda rail accident in Toledo, which claimed 69 lives, and after Carlos Cuerpo took over the Ministry of Transport.
The change comes as authorities review responsibility for the tragedies at Adamuz and Urda. In parallel, the Government has dismissed Álvaro Fernández Heredia as Renfe chairman and appointed Inmaculada Gutiérrez Carrizo, until now director-general of Renfe International Projects.
Hortalà, State counsel with Renfe experience
Hortalà, a State counsel since 2004, was secretary-general of Renfe Operadora and of the boards of directors of its subsidiaries from 2024 to 2026. He previously held posts at the CNMC, served as legal director of the FROB, and worked for the State Legal Service and the Ministry of Public Works.
His departure from Renfe, announced on 23 June, was officially attributed to personal reasons, although industry sources pointed to internal disagreements over the bus subsidiary and how the dispute with Talgo over cracks in the bogies of the Series 106 Avril trains was handled, according to ElEconomista.
The new chairman arrives at Adif with a legal and regulatory profile at a time of maximum pressure over the safety and maintenance of the rail network. However, his term could last only a few months because the general election is close, on 29 November.