ADIF tenders the undergrounding of the railway in Torrelavega for 128.6 million

ADIF has put out to tender the execution of the works for the undergrounding of the meter-gauge line as it passes through Torrelavega (Cantabria) and the complementary actions related to it, with an estimated value of 128,644,322.91 euros and a duration of 52 months. The announcement, processed by the Board of Directors of the public business entity, is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) no. 250, dated October 8, 2026, section V-A, pages 53073 to 53075, with the official reference BOE-B-2026-32643 and file number 3.26/06110.0108. Bids may be submitted until 1:00 PM on December 1, 2026.

The tender comes after the Official State Gazette published, on August 8, 2026, the agreement between ADIF, the Government of Cantabria, and the City Council of Torrelavega for the execution and financing of the railway integration works in the city, signed on June 18, 2026, and processed by resolution on June 24, 2026 (BOE-A-2026-17361). That agreement sets a total estimated cost of 138,861,660.94 euros excluding VAT and distributes the financing between ADIF (50%), the Government of Cantabria (30%), and the City Council of Torrelavega (20%).

The project has undergone a long processing period: the initial agreement was signed on April 27, 2018, the informative study for the undergrounding was definitively approved on June 22, 2022, and the complementary study for the underground parking lot on January 19, 2024. Two subsequent addenda, dated December 23, 2022, and December 22, 2025, updated budgets and deadlines due to the increasing cost of the works.

A contract of 128.6 million and 52 months

The object of the tender is the execution of the works for the construction project of the undergrounding of the meter-gauge line in Torrelavega and the construction project for the complementary actions. The estimated value of the contract amounts to 128,644,322.91 euros and the execution period is 52 months, with CPV code 45111200 (site preparation and clearing works) and the main location in Cantabria (ES130).

The procedure is open and variants are not permitted. The award will be decided based on two criteria: price, with a weighting of 51%, and several criteria described in the administrative specifications, with the remaining 49%. The contract is covered by the Agreement on Government Procurement.

Deadlines, solvency, and appeal process

• Submission of bids: until 1:00 PM on December 1, 2026, electronically.
• Opening of the technical bid envelope: December 3, 2026, at 10:00 AM.
• Opening of the economic bid envelope: February 4, 2027, at 10:00 AM.
• Mandatory bid maintenance: 4 months.
• Required classification: B2-6 (reinforced concrete, over five million euros), D1-6 (track laying, over five million), D4-5 (railway electrification, between 2.4 and five million) and K2-4 (boreholes, injections and piling, over 840,000 euros).
• Appeals: before the Central Administrative Tribunal for Contractual Appeals, within a period of 15 business days.

The announcement was sent to the Official Journal of the European Union on September 30, 2026, and was published in it on October 1, 2026 (ID 2026/S 190-00674739). The date the announcement was sent to the Official State Gazette is October 5, 2026, and it is signed by the president of ADIF, Luis Pedro Marco de la Peña.

The railway integration of Torrelavega

The undergrounding is part of a broader urban operation. The 2026 agreement details the planned actions: undergrounding 1,800 meters of railway track as it passes through the town, removing the level crossings at Paseo Niño and Pablo Garnica Street, constructing a new underground station, adapting the current passenger building, urbanizing the surroundings, and transforming the freed space.

The agreed budget breaks down, among other items, 103,770,517.46 euros for the undergrounding (civil works, track, electrification, and civil protection installations), 13,370,393.48 euros for complementary actions—underground parking and drainage collector—, 8,042,020.00 euros for the new passenger building, and 5,507,000.00 euros for the urbanization of 45,000 square meters. The agreement was signed by the Minister of Public Works, Territorial Planning and Environment of the Government of Cantabria, Roberto Media Sainz, the mayor of Torrelavega, Javier López Estrada, and the president of ADIF.

The tender converts a railway investment of great urban impact in Cantabria into a contract: undergrounding the track frees up land in the center of Torrelavega and allows for the reorganization of the station area, with a schedule that places the award at the beginning of 2027 and the works over more than four years.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 250, of October 8, 2026, section V-A, pp. 53073-53075 (official reference: BOE-B-2026-32643).