The Government dismisses Luis Pedro Marco as president of Adif

The Government has ordered the dismissal of Luis Pedro Marco de la Peña as president of the Public Business Entity Railway Infrastructure Administrator (Adif), according to Royal Decree 992/2026, of November 10, published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) No. 281, of November 11, 2026, in section II.A, page 152157 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-23609). The decision was adopted by the Council of Ministers at its meeting on November 10, 2026, at the proposal of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility. The decree thanks the dismissed official for “the services rendered” and arrives on the same day the Executive published an urgent regulatory package on railway safety.

The regulation consists of a single operative article and is signed by King Felipe VI, countersigned by the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility by substitution, the First Vice President of the Government and Minister of Economy, Trade and Enterprise, Carlos Cuerpo Caballero, by virtue of Royal Decree 975/2026, of November 4. The text is limited to formalizing the dismissal of the top official of the public business entity that manages the infrastructure of the Railway Network of General Interest, without designating a substitute in the same decree.

A dismissal signed by substitution by the head of Economy

The decree bears the signature of the first vice president of the Government and minister of Economy, Trade and Enterprise, and not that of the head of Transport, because the latter exercises his functions by substitution according to Royal Decree 975/2026, of November 4, which had already been invoked in other provisions published that same week in the BOE.

The dismissal is part of a series of movements at the top of the department. On that same November 10, the Council of Ministers also approved the dismissal of Encarnación Sandonis Rodríguez as director of the Cabinet of the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, processed as Royal Decree 991/2026, of November 10 (BOE-A-2026-23608).

Two years at the head of the infrastructure administrator

Luis Pedro Marco de la Peña had been appointed president of Adif through Royal Decree 936/2024, of September 17, published in the BOE of September 18, 2024 (BOE-A-2024-18641). He replaced in the position Ángel Contreras Marín, who had been appointed by Royal Decree 1049/2023, of December 7 (BOE-A-2023-25026).

His mandate falls short of a year and a half of effective tenure since taking office. On an organizational level, the Presidency of Adif also entails that of Adif-Alta Velocidad, according to the statutory configuration of both entities, so the dismissal affects the management of the two public companies managing the network.

• Position terminated: presidency of the Public Business Entity Railway Infrastructure Administrator.
• Appointment regulation: Royal Decree 936/2024, of September 17.
• Agreement date: Council of Ministers meeting on November 10, 2026.
• Publication: BOE no. 281, of November 11, 2026, section II.A, page 152157.
• Official reference: BOE-A-2026-23609.

An urgent railway safety package on the same day

The departure of the president of Adif is published alongside Royal Decree-Law 34/2026, of November 10, on urgent measures to reinforce operational safety in railway transport and the social protection of railway personnel (BOE-A-2026-23603), also approved by the Council of Ministers the previous day.

This royal decree-law modifies Royal Decree 929/2020, of October 27, on railway operational safety and interoperability, to clarify the calculation of driving times—with maximums of six continuous hours and nine hours per shift, and breaks of at least 45 minutes—and reinforces the obligation of railway entities to facilitate access to facilities, rolling stock, and equipment for the State Railway Safety Agency when supervising another entity.

Likewise, it reforms Law 38/2015, of September 29, of the Railway Sector, to introduce a “just culture” of risk communication through a new Article 71, and its sole additional provision extends the regime of retirement age reduction coefficients to railway personnel on interoperable lines.

The termination leaves vacant the presidency of the entity that administers the infrastructure to which these new safety obligations apply, in a context marked by the demand to reinforce the supervision of the railway system. The decree does not include the appointment of a successor, therefore the filling of the position will remain pending a future designation by the Government.

Source: Official State Gazette (BOE), no. 281, of November 11, 2026, section II.A, page 152157 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-23609).