Dealership high-speed section between Spain and France … – Telemetro

The company TP Ferro, the concessionaire of the high-speed line between Barcelona (northeastern Spain) and the French town of Perpignan, presented on Friday the voluntary bankruptcy, the company said.

TP Ferro, detentada 50% by the Spanish construction group ACS and the French Eiffage, has taken this decision after “not been possible to reach agreement within four months on restructuring debt with financial creditors and governments “of Spain and France.

The company, which had already submitted a preconcurso of creditors in March in the commercial court of Girona (Catalonia , northeast), said “the bankruptcy does not necessarily mean the end of the activity of the concession”.

The concessionaire ensures that its shareholders (ACS and Eiffage) the have ” given the means to continue the exploitation of the Figueres-Perpignan international section in the same conditions of high level of safety, fluidity and regularity to date “with the idea of ​​starting a new period to reach a restructuring agreement debt.

Although the statement does not specify the amount of this debt, according to the Spanish media this would exceed 400 million euros.

TP Ferro said its goal, in the framework of this bankruptcy, is “rapidly reach an agreement with all the parties involved in the project on a final solution regarding the current situation of insecurity and lack of sustainability of the economic model -financiero “.

” The line traffic, and consequently, revenue from tolls receiving TP Ferro, are substantially lower than initially forecast, “he said last May Bertrand Mouly-Aigrot, transport specialist at consultancy Strategy Consulting Archery.

The dealership then explained his difficulties by the fact that the section “Figueras-Perpignan was put into service in January 2009, within the contract period, but did not join the network Spanish high speed until the end of December 2013 “.

” This delay, weak supply of passenger trains proposed by the incumbent public operators, much lower than that committed, the lack of competition, lack of liberalization of the sector, and especially hard in Spain, economic crisis affecting the balance of the concession, as initially planned, “the company added.