ADIF opens public information period to expropriate land for the Torrelavega undergrounding project

The General Directorate of the Railway Sector has opened a public information period and has summoned the owners of assets and rights affected by the drawing up of the preliminary records for the compulsory expropriation file 441ADIF2698, motivated by the construction works for the undergrounding of the meter-gauge line in Torrelavega. The resolution, signed in Madrid on September 22, 2026, by the Director General of the Railway Sector, Carlos María Juárez Colera, is published in the Official Gazette of Cantabria number 205, dated October 26, 2026, with official reference CVE-2026-8312. The announcement affects 27 properties within the municipal district and sets the drawing up of preliminary records prior to occupation for November 18, 2026.

ADIF urged the initiation of the file on August 5, 2026, to secure the land necessary to execute the project, which was approved on July 21, 2025. This approval entails the declaration of public utility or social interest, the necessity of occupying the affected assets, and the declaration of urgency, in accordance with Law 38/2015, of September 29, of the Railway Sector. Therefore, Article 52 of the Compulsory Expropriation Law of December 16, 1954, and the corresponding provisions of the Regulation of April 26, 1957, are applicable.

Twenty-seven properties, mostly urban

The expropriation annex details the affected properties, almost all of an urban nature except for one rural property, including areas for expropriation, easement, and temporary occupation. Altogether, the expropriation areas total more than 37,500 square meters. Among the owners are:

• ADIF, through the North Heritage and Urban Planning Area Management, in several properties, including the one corresponding to the Oviedo-Torrelavega railway route, with 33,386 square meters of expropriation.
• Torrelavega City Council, owner of two properties, one of which is composed of the streets Lucio Marcos, José del Río “Pick”, Pablo Garnica, Paseo del Niño, Hermilio Alcalde del Río, and Antonio Bartolomé Suárez.
• Government of Cantabria, in a rural property in polygon 21, plot 9032.
• Sniace, SA, with a property of 3,908 square meters in area.
• Armando Álvarez, SA and Plásticos Españoles, SA, regarding a plot of 95,058 square meters.
• Cristalería P. Torrelavega, SL, Losinsa, SL, and Construcciones Rotella, SA, along with homeowners’ associations and various individuals and heirs of owners.

Preliminary records on November 18

The summons are staggered throughout the day of November 18, 2026, at the location designated by the Torrelavega City Council, with individual citations for the interested parties:

• 09:00 hours: properties of Sniace, SA, Coterillo Ceballos, Fernando and Senarriaga Alevito, María Begoña, and of Gómez García, Alejandrina, Gómez García, María Victoria and Gómez García, Jesús.
• 09:45 hours: properties of the Torrelavega City Council and of Armando Álvarez, SA and Plásticos Españoles, SA.
• 10:30 hours: properties of the Herrera Iglesias siblings and of Herrera Menezo, Natalia, and of the Salceda Obregón siblings.
• 11:15 and 11:30 hours: properties of the Pérez Moreno and Gómez López families, and of Puente Trueba and Saiz Fernández with González Cayuso.
• 12:15, 12:30 and 13:00 hours: homeowners’ associations of Cerezo, Niño and Julio Hauzeur streets.
• 13:15, 16:30, 17:15 and 17:45 hours: homeowners’ associations of Pablo Garnica and Julio Hauzeur, Valle Ezquerra, Luis (Heirs of) and Bazo Valle, Ubalde Merino and Herreros Ubalde, Verdeja Saiz, Iván, Cristalería P. Torrelavega, SL and Quintana Gutiérrez with Pérez Quintana.

Fifteen business days to file objections

The holders of affected assets and rights and any interested person or entity may submit written objections to the instructing department within a period of 15 business days, counted according to Article 17 of the 1957 Regulations and in accordance with Article 56 of the same text. The expropriation annex may be consulted at:

• Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Railway Expropriations Division, Paseo de la Castellana 67, 28046 Madrid.
• ADIF-Alta Velocidad, Sub-directorate of Expropriations, avenida Pío XII 110 (Caracola number 18), 28036 Madrid.
• The affected city councils and sub-delegations or delegations of the Government.
• The websites of the ministry (www.transportes.gob.es) and ADIF (www.adif.es), in their public participation and public information sections.

This publication also serves as notification for unknown interested parties or those whose address is unknown, for the purposes of Law 39/2015, of October 1, on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations.

The announcement opens the formal channel for land and rights owners in Torrelavega to discuss the valuation and areas before the minutes are drawn up, a preliminary step to the effective occupation of the land. With more than 37,500 square meters of expropriation at stake and a dozen private holders alongside large companies and administrations, the schedule for the undergrounding is linked to the completion of this expropriation procedure.

Source: Official Gazette of Cantabria, no. 205, of October 26, 2026, section 5. Compulsory Expropriation, pages 54918-54920 (official reference: CVE-2026-8312).