maintenance

Renfe has not yet found a company for its maintenance

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The high-speed trains with which Spain debuted the AVE in 1992 They have been left without a maintenance contract. So it affirms the ABC, ensuring that Renfe put out to tender the service for more than 164 million euros and the tender has been void, so the operator has not yet found any company to take charge of it. The problem. As the media reports, Renfe called a public tender in June 2025 to award a private company the maintenance and repair of its oldest AVE trains, those of the 100 and 100F series, the same ones with which the first high-speed commercial line in Spain, the Madrid-Seville, was inaugurated in April 1992. The tender budget amounted to almost 165 million euros, according to inform the ABC, through the documentation published on the State Contracting Platform. The middle point that Renfe only received one offer and discarded it as it was considered invalid. What trains are and why they matter. The 100 series was born from an order that Renfe placed in 1988 to the French manufacturer Alstom: 24 high-speed trains based on the Atlantique TGV, adapted to the Spanish market. They were, at the time, a milestone: the first railway system in the world to commit to refunding the ticket if the train arrived more than five minutes late (has aged quite a bit this commitment today). After more than 30 years behind them, these vehicles continue to circulate on some lines of the network. How maintenance worked until now. The previous contract was in the hands of Irvia Mantenimiento Ferroviario SA, a company established in January 2008 by Renfe Operadora itself and Alstom Transporte. As detailed by the company on its website, for five years it has been in charge of the maintenance of 14 series 100 trains and 10 of the 100F series at the bases of Cerro Negro (Madrid), La Sagra (Toledo) and Can Tunis (Barcelona). Just like share In the middle, its tasks covered both preventive and corrective maintenance as well as online technical assistance and repairs resulting from accidents or vandalism. That contract expired on November 30, 2025, according to ABC. Why doesn’t anyone show up? It is clear that maintaining a fleet of trains of this age is not attractive for the sector. The 100 series models have more than 30 years of service, which implies difficulties in finding spare parts, specific engineering and technical personnel specialized in already obsolete systems. Furthermore, according to account ABC, to this is added that Renfe did not publish the specifications openly, so any interested company had to physically travel to the Renfe Viajeros headquarters in Madrid to collect the documentation. According to share In the media, the operator justified this by the volume of the file. What happens now? Renfe has no current contract for the maintenance of its oldest AVE and no company willing to take on the task. The operator has not publicly explained how it will cover this service or if it plans to relaunch the contest with new conditions, so we will have to see what the future holds for these trains. What we do know is that the 100 and 100F series are still in circulation, which makes this even more of a situation of some urgency if the safety of travelers is to be maintained. We’ll see how everything turns out. Cover image | Wikipedia In Xataka | Renfe has launched a real-time map to know where your surroundings are in 2025. And it works quite well

Wind turbines planted in the middle of the ocean were a maintenance challenge. Until the scanner drone appeared

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Until very recently, performing a “health check” on an offshore wind turbine was a complex, slow and, above all, expensive logistical process. The industry standard dictated that to inspect the blades, the turbines had to come to a complete stop while specialized technicians traveled by boat to perform manual inspections. This practice represents a direct interruption in the generation of clean energy and loss of income for operators. However, this scenario has changed thanks to Danish startup Quali Drone, which has successfully completed the first contactless drone inspection of a fully operational offshore wind turbine. The landmark in the Baltic Sea. The setting for this advance has been the Rødsand 2 offshore wind farm, operated by RWE since 2010 off the coast of Denmark. There, the AQUADA-GO project team showed that it is possible for a large drone to fly autonomously at a short distance from the blades while they rotate at high speed. As detailed by RWEthe solution has gone from a laboratory experiment to an operational concept successfully demonstrated in real offshore conditions. “We have shown that it is possible to inspect offshore wind turbines with a drone equipped with a visual camera while the turbine is operational,” says Jesper Smit, CEO of Quali Drone. More in depth. To operate in the hostile conditions of the sea, no conventional equipment has been used. The drone is an advanced hardware platform designed for high-precision missions. State-of-the-art sensors: The drone is equipped with high-resolution cameras, infrared thermography and artificial vision systems. Autonomy and precision: It uses mission planning software and an online data infrastructure that allows the drone to track the movement of the blades autonomously. Digital Twins: The technology employs “Digital Twins” to document errors and ensure reports meet industry standards. Subsurface Inspection: Unlike traditional optical methods, this system can scan the internal layers to find damage that is not visible from the outside. Beyond the drone: what the human eye cannot see. The drone is not limited to taking photographs; It is an advanced diagnostic platform. As Xiao Chen explainsassociate professor at DTU (Technical University of Denmark), have developed artificial intelligence models that use algorithms deep learning to identify anomalies. This “digital brain” is capable of detecting everything from surface erosion to internal structural fractures through the use of thermography. Additionally, the AI ​​model learns with every flight: each inspection feeds the system with new data, making it smarter and more accurate each time it is deployed at a wind farm. A paradigm shift. This breakthrough is not just a technical feat; It has profound economic and environmental implications. According to Energy Cluster Denmarkthe impact of the AQUADA-GO project is summarized in compelling figures: Cost reduction: Savings in inspections of at least 50% are estimated in the future. Energy efficiency: By not stopping the turbines, green electricity production is maximized and the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) is reduced by 2% to 3%. Safety and Climate: The risk for workers is reduced by avoiding the deployment of ships and technicians at height, also cutting CO₂ emissions associated with maintenance by between 30% and 50%. Economic driver: This technology is expected to generate between 33 and 55 new full-time jobs and increase the revenue of the companies involved by up to 230 million Danish crowns after commercialization. Towards a smart wind industry. What started as scientific research in Denmark is today a “market-ready commercial solution”, in the words of Jesper Smit. The ability to monitor blade health continuously and without interruption could be the missing piece to make offshore wind energy even more competitive and safer. Image | RWE Xataka | Northern Europe has launched itself into offshore wind. The problem is that there are countries that ‘thieve’ wind

fry them with taxes so they pay for maintenance

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we have been counting over the last year: Japan has broken all its visitor arrival records while visibly suffering from the saturation effects tour. The nation’s response has begun in Kyoto in an emblematic way: if they cannot prevent the hordes, the government has thought that they will at least help the social, physical and management costs that their massive presence is generating. A boom that doesn’t fit. Foreign arrivals exceed 30 million in the first nine months of 2025, with a monthly record each month of the year and 3.26 million tourists in September, driving sustained pressure on fragile cities like Kyoto and iconic enclaves like mount fujiwhere “human density” produces mountain traffic jams, waste and safety risks. The demand overwhelms infrastructure and forces us to postpone usual activities (from schools that avoid tripseven the restriction of streets in neighborhoods like Gion) because tourist use is displacing basic civic uses and altering the balance between residents and visitors. The highest tax. The solution? The government has authorized Kyoto to charge from March 2026 to 10,000 yen per person per night in luxury hotels (well above the previous cap of 1,000 yen) within a tiered system that preserves low rates for budget travelers and shifts the burden to higher-income segments. The measure will double municipal income from accommodation from 5.2 to 12.6 billion yen and it is expressly presented as the obligation for tourists to “bear part of the cost of the countermeasures” instead of financing the adjustment only with local taxes. For the luxury traveler, the extra cost is marginal compared to the price of the trip, but for the city it constitutes a stable flow that turns tourist pressure into resource to govern it. From deterrence to sustainability engineering. The funds are intended for reinforce breaking points of the urban system: expanding fleets and transportation corridors to redistribute flows, fund multilingual services, etiquette and behavior control campaigns, and nurture a broader effort to preserve the cultural landscape that makes Kyoto attractive. The city, in fact, already applies disciplinary measures (street fines private Gion, selective closures, explicit signs that it is not “a theme park”) but needs to finance the long-term resilience of that coexistence. The logic is not so much to punish demand but to convert it into an investment in what should not be broken. The Asian laboratory. In reality, what is happening in Kyoto is not a local oddity but a preview of what the communities already face (or will face). global tourism capitals when the growth stop creating well-being net and begins to destroy it: congestion that degrades urban life, social resentment, residential displacementdeterioration of in situ assets and fiscal governance overwhelmed by a phenomenon whose elasticity of demand is much greater than its elasticity of burden. Japan, when encoding a explicit fiscal response (not to expel tourists but to force financial co-responsibility) is setting a regulatory precedent for other cities trapped in the same paradox: tourism cannot continue to be financed by those who suffer from it, it must be financed by those who cause it, or it will end up eroding the asset that justifies its own existence. The paradox of success. In short, the tourism boom persists (21.5 million visitors in the first half of 2025 and 56 million visitors to Kyoto in 2024) with signs that demand will not subside on its own. Hence, the tax does not seek to discourage but rather correct imbalances. A shift that recognizes a structural point: in mature destinations, tourism stops being a kind of “net gift” and becomes an activity that must pay for the maintenance of the urban ecosystem it consumes so as not to destroy it. Image | Pexels In Xataka | Japan has found the three most serious problems with the massive arrival of tourists. And none of it has to do with tourists. In Xataka | In Japan, tourism has become a problem. So they had an idea: give flights to foreigners

The mechanics of Spain are increasingly trusting Asian cars. And maintenance data are right

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“If you want a car that does not fail, buy a Toyota or a Honda.” This phrase is a classic when it touches Buy a carwe want one that passes as little as possible through the workshop and we start asking acquaintances. It has an obvious problem: it is a bias limited affirmation and experience, but there are more and more voices that point that, perhaps, it does not go so disenchanted. Because there are countless brands, each with its reputation, but beyond the film that each company wants to tell us to close the embers to its flame, there are two elements of help when buying a car that does not fail: Reliability surveys and experience of mechanics. The mechanics. “I think the Asian market has eaten the European, when it was the other way around.” This is the opinion that the mechanic Kike Ferrer shared A few months ago, pointing out that “the best cars you can buy are Asians, they are the ones that are least repaired in the workshops” That is an important point because when they are under guarantee, it does not bother to have to visit the workshop, but the problems come when the Reliability outside that guarantee framework It begins to be compromised. There may be minor arrangements, but also many who bite in their pocket. The mechanic Carlos Pérez has also commented Recently that “Honda, Mazda, Toyota … are very reliable cars, well manufactured and that endure many kilometers without giving problems. Nor must we forget Kia and Hyundai, Korean and a quality guarantee.” The statistics. Kike’s is not an isolated opinion, and to check it, you have to go to statistics. This type of surveys and lists They are always controversial Because reliability is measured for both software and mechanics and, above all, because it is segmented to the North American market. Two of the most important are that of Consumer Reports and that of JD Power. Consumer Report Analyze 20 problematic areas of the car (ranging from the brakes to the engine, through broken beautifiers, potential problems outside battery, transmission and problems that affect the electric and hybrids as the battery and load) and compares with the historic since 2000, giving a score from 1 to 100 to each car. JD Power also handles reports sent by thousands of consumers. They are not simple surveys, but a thermometer that the automobile industry takes very seriously (so much that some of its findings They have forced brands to take action (such as the failure in the rotary engines of Mazda in 1973). That said, Asians such as Toyota, Lexus, Subaru, Honda, Hyundai or Mazda usually occupy the top positions. OCU table The OCU. Within each brand, obviously, there are better or worse models. For example, within Toyota, the BZ4Xlowered the score of the brand in one of the surveys. Interestingly, it is the basis of Subaru’s single, and also lowers the average of this company. But of course, when we say that it is a biased list, we mean that, although there are models that we share between markets, the European and the American are not the same. There the OCU comes into play and Whatar. Let’s go with the seconds. It is a British media that conducted a survey of almost 30,000 drivers to find the most reliable models of Great Britain. The same as before: the ones that have gone through the workshop. The result is that Lexus and Toyota (same group) led the list with the Lexus NX and the Toyota Aygo X. The following were the Mini Countryman, the Audi Q3 and the Kia Picanto. Regarding the OCU, with other almost 30,000 people surveyed in Europe and information of 276 models, In the 2024 table We see that the Top 10 is occupied by eight Asian brands and the only non -Japanese/South Korean are Cupra and Smart. And the Chinese? In the different surveysthere are names that usually exchange positions, but there are three elements that do not vary. The first thing is that Lexus is usually the first. The second is that the Japanese and South Korean are the ones who take the top positions and the third is that those brands that we see more and more through the streets are missing: the Chinese. In Kike Ferrer’s interview to Adrian.gmartin, the mechanic mentions To the Chinese cars among those reliable Asians, but with an asterisk: the spare parts logistics that, in their opinion, is not yet up to it, sharing an opinion with Pérez. Brands like mg (of the best selling in Spain) or byd are the ones that we begin to see the most in the streets and, although it will have to spend time for official guarantees to be exhausted and we start having data on how much they pass through the workshop, there are already authorized voices that approve Chinese cars. For example, Enroncap, the body responsible for granting security scores in the European territory that is clear that they are even better than others of more settled brands in the region. But of course, in the end, although a very valid opinion has nothing to do with seeing them more or less in the workshop. For that, as we say, we will have to wait a few more years. Images | OCU, Magic Booster In Xataka | The German ITV has analyzed the reliability of the Tesla and has reached a conclusion: Dacia is above

What experts explain about their maintenance

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The heat arrives, the nights become sticky and, Like every summerit’s time to wake up the old air conditioning. But this year something is not going well. When lighting it, the first breath of air does not bring relief: it smells weird, as a moisture enclosed, as forgotten. Is it just unpleasant or is there anything else? A problem that floats in the air. Some experts They have coincided In The Guardian that if the air conditioning smells weird, something is wrong. It is not a matter of comfort: there may be health consequences. “These smells are usually a sign that there is accumulation of mold or dirt in the filters or in the equipment of the equipment,” He explained For the British media Amy Li, a professor at the University of Waterloo and a researcher of interior air quality. According to Li, the air that comes out of a dirty team is not only cleaner than the one that enters: it can be loaded with mold spores. The origin of the problem. Every time the air passes through the cold serpentine (the evaporator coil), the steam is condensed. If that water does not drain well, it is stagnant and becomes a perfect broth for bacteria and fungi. And yes, from there those smells come, like They have detailed From Bosch. Can it be avoided? It would be as manual, basic and regular maintenance. Robert Polchinski, a professor at the City Tech College in New York, explained in The Guardian that he must be washed at least once per season. If the air is very loaded – for example, in urban or pet areas – it may be necessary to clean it more often. You also have to review the coils (interior and exterior), make sure that the device drains correctly and is well level. At the end of summer, you have to keep it well, without leaning or forcing it. In addition, if you are going to use the air after months, ventilate the house with the windows open for at least half an hour while it is running, According to a series of measuring tips. More innovative solutions. In addition to maintenance, innovation is also pushing more efficient solutions. Researchers They are developing New materials capable of better absorbing moisture and improving energy efficiency, which could lead to devices that cool more and spend less. Can everyone stink? According to an expert climate videomany users neglect the outer unit of The systems Splitwhere dust and humidity can also accumulate. Even pipes can absorb odors from inside the house and return them to the environment. A little known but effective solution is to install a siphon in the drain system, which avoids the return of odors. And, of course, maintain a cleaning routine every three or four months. In the case of portable or window equipmentmaintenance is more direct, but also more urgent: they are usually more exposed to dust, and many users store them badly in winter, damaging the compressor or leaving them in positions where the water is not drained correctly. The importance of counting the years. Air conditioning equipment has an estimated useful life of between 8 and 10 years. But if you notice that the light of the light rises without explanation, that the coils freeze or that the smell does not go with a thorough cleaning, the time has come to change it. It is not just a matter of efficiency: the oldest equipment consume more energy, pollute more and cool worse. A less toxic summer. The air conditioning can be a lifeguard in times of extreme heat, but it can also become a risk if neglected. Regular maintenance not only prevents bad odors: it improves energy efficiency, prolongs the life of the equipment and protects health. Image | Pexels Xataka | The best portable air conditioning for small houses. Which buy? Tips and recommendations

The mountains needs maintenance, but doing so is expensive. In León they have opted for four -legged firefighters and hooves

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Environmental care does not always require large investments or technologies to the last. Sometimes, you just need controlled grazing to prevent problems in electrical networks. Everything may sound very confusing, but a pioneering project has found a great solution. Short. As the saying would say, it is better to prevent than cure, and so is the Redeia project in the Leonese mountain that uses sheep, cows and horses to control the vegetation under high voltage lines. The “Network Pasture” initiative It has joined eight livestock farmsthrough its subsidiary Red Eléctrica, where more than 3,300 animals distributed in different areas of the province, such as La Robla, Villamanín, Pola de Gordón, La Ercina and Cistierna. Grazing. In the Leonese mountain, the project covers 65 hectares and 28 kilometers of electric lines between Soto-Robla and Velilla-Robla. Grazing, which includes a total of 2,900 sheep, 370 cows and 35 horses, improves local biodiversity and reduces the risk of forest fires. This initiative is a clear example of how traditional livestock practices can contribute to the protection of nature. In depth. “Network grazing” is part of your Comprehensive Impact Strategywhich seeks to generate value in the territories where their infrastructure are present, solving social and environmental problems of the communities. Besides, Its objective is Integrate extensive livestock with electrical infrastructure, using cattle to perform vegetation debrote tasks. This approach not only contributes to solving environmental problems, but also socially through employment creation and support for local farmers. Latest technologies. In this project an innovation has been included and it is the use of drones for livestock management. Not only does it improve the efficiency in livestock management, but also offers new opportunities for the adaptation of livestock to the needs of the 21st century. Previously. The initiative was launched in 2022 in Casares de Arbas (Villamanín), where cattle were started to control the vegetation under 3.5 kilometers of lying, about nine hectares. Since then, the project has grown, extending the grazed surface and increasing the number of participating farmers, with the collaboration of the Agrovidar company to manage the project. According to The data collectedthe grazing areas have registered an improvement in biodiversity that other areas where grazing has not been carried out. This translates into a greater presence of arthropods, butterflies, pollinators and floral units. In addition, cattle have reduced biomass volume and modified the type of vegetation, thus reducing the risk of forest fires. Expansion. The expansion of the initiative is taking shape in several locations in the province of León. It is also planned to be extended in the future with more livestock and more grazed areas, which could further benefit biodiversity and reduce the risk of fire in other areas of the region. Image | Unspash Xataka | Australia compared 1,700 sheep and discovered something unexpected: those that graze between solar panels of better quality wool

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