​Íñigo de la Serna highlights leading role of Spanish railway companies on international stage

The aim of the meeting was to showcase the potential of Spanish companies in this key sector for global transport. Spain is a global leader in the design, civil works, signalling, the safe and efficient management of railway traffic, the supply of rolling stock, operation and maintenance.

It has a very competitive industrial fabric, which is highly professional and strongly integrated, and its companies are present throughout the railway value chain, from the planning stage through to the start-up of the service. In fact, thanks to the consolidation of consortiums, Spanish firms form one of the most powerful clusters of railway companies in the world, and they create value and generate wealth in one of today's most technologically advanced sectors.

International leadership

The country has one of the most powerful fleets of trains and the most extensive high-speed railway network in the world, behind only China. In addition to the railway sector, Spain leads the way in the management of air transport, port and land management infrastructures.

Spain currently heads up the leading railway projects in the world, with a presence in more than 90 countries on all five continents. From high-speed rail travel to underground systems and tramways, Spanish firms demonstrate their experience with highly innovative solutions, maximum safety and comfort and respect for the environment.

During his speech, the Minister for Public Works highlighted that Spain is one of the countries with the best transport infrastructures, which translates into new opportunities for Spanish companies in many countries. In fact, Spain has once again confirmed its privileged position among the 15 leading countries in the world with the best provision of infrastructures.

On this point, he remarked that 10 large Spanish corporations figure among the 100 leading contractors in the world; six of the leading 15 companies in infrastructure management by the number of concessions are Spanish; and at present Spanish companies manage close to 40% of the main transport concessions.

Together with these achievements, Íñigo de la Serna pointed out that during 2016, Spanish companies took part in public tenders for a sum of more than 47 billion euros, with the railway sector accounting for more than 8.7 billion.

Internationalisation and boosting overseas activity are strategic lines of the policy of the Ministry of Public Works. In this regard, the minister referred to the new Internationalisation of Mobility, Transport and Infrastructure Plan, headed up by the Ministry of Public Works with the collaboration of Ineco.

The main aims of this plan are the identification of markets and priority countries for Spanish companies, aligning ourselves with global trends in the transport infrastructure sector, the identification of potential synergies between the Grupo Fomento and the private sector, and acting as a platform for internationalisation.

Lastly, the Minister for Public Works announced the opening of an Interpretation Centre of Technology and Know-how on high-speed rail travel in Spain in the year 2018.

Non official translation