Spain dismisses Renfe chairman after Urda crash and names new Renfe and Adif heads

The dismissals

The Council of Ministers, meeting in an extraordinary session on Friday, 13 November, removed Álvaro Fernández Heredia as chairman of Renfe, Spain's state rail operator. He had held the post since January 2025, when Óscar Puente picked him to replace Raül Blanco. His successor is Inmaculada Gutiérrez Carrizo, who until now ran Renfe's international unit. The government stresses her regulatory background and her work on international projects, while El Mundo describes her profile as more economic than technical or operational. The government has not explained the reasons for the dismissal, according to El Confidencial.

A new chair at Adif

The same session named Joaquim Hortalà i Vallvé as chairman of Adif, the body that manages Spain's rail infrastructure. He replaces Luis Pedro Marco de la Peña, who resigned the previous week. Hortalà, a state lawyer, earlier worked at the CNMC competition regulator and the FROB restructuring fund before joining Renfe. He had been Renfe's secretary general before leaving after disagreements with Fernández Heredia, a departure that El Confidencial dates to June and El Mundo dates to July. El Confidencial notes that the appointment returns him to public rail on the same day the government removes the executive he had clashed with.

Two rail tragedies this year

The dismissals come after two fatal rail accidents in 2026. El Mundo reports that a Renfe AVE train struck a stopped Iryo train near Urda in Toledo, killing 69 people, a little over two weeks before the dismissals. It describes this as the second major rail tragedy of the year, after the Adamuz accident, which killed 46. Óscar Puente resigned as transport minister, and Vice-President Carlos Cuerpo has taken over the ministry on an interim basis. El Confidencial notes that Renfe's chairman was drawn into the safety debate, although maintenance and infrastructure fall under Adif.

Urda collision69

Adamuz accident46

Urda collision

69 deaths

Adamuz accident

46 deaths

Data from the article text

Labour tensions and what comes next

Labour relations had soured in the days before the dismissal. A Semaf strike on Tuesday, 10 November, disrupted Cercanías and Rodalies commuter services and deepened the conflict between management and train drivers. On Thursday, 12 November, Fernández Heredia negotiated with Secretary of State José Antonio Santano and the unions to avert further action. New mobilisations were called for 17 and 23 November. El Mundo describes the appointments as completing the overhaul of the rail leadership.