The scope of the rail IT project on which €50 million in expenditure has been written down was “not sufficiently specified from the outset”, the Spanish contractor that has been working on the project has maintained.In its first public comment on the controversy, Indra said “a number of requirements could not be fully defined or validated during the initial project phases” due to the age and complexity of the existing railway infrastructure.It also highlighted what it called the limited availability of detailed technical documentation, as well as gaps in knowledge relating to certain legacy systems and operational processes.Indra’s comments on the controversy come as the Dáil Public Accounts Committee is scheduled to hear from Irish Rail and the National Transport Authority (NTA) on the controversy surrounding the development of the planned traffic management system (TMS), which has been beset by delays and cost overruns.It also comes as the NTA indicated in private correspondence with Irish Rail this week that plans and timelines for the future expansion of train services could be at risk due to the costs associated with the failed €50 million IT system.In a confidential letter to Irish Rail on Monday, the NTA said it accepted a decision by the board of the train operator to terminate a contract with Indra.However, the NTA said there would be “significant financial consequences”.The TMS is aimed at integrating signals, communications and other systems on the rail network and is scheduled to form a key part of a new National Train Control Centre at Heuston Station. In May, Irish Rail wrote down by €50 million the value of its investment in the centre.[ Irish Rail’s €50m writedown on IT project a ‘national scandal’, says Sinn FéinOpens in new window ]Irish Rail told the NTA on June 29th that its board wanted the contract with Indra ended. It suggested entering into a new arrangement with another company, Siemens Mobility, as an alternative.In its letter to Irish Rail on Monday, the NTA said: “Clearly, there are significant financial consequences arising from the position reached on this project, where the supplier contract is to be terminated and a very significant financial impairment has been implemented. “The financial impacts of these events on the remainder of the heavy rail investment programme will need to be assessed, particularly in light of the continued funding requirement for a replacement train control system.”Indra on Wednesday told The Irish Times that as the TMS project progressed and a deeper understanding of the operational environment was obtained, “it became necessary to progressively refine, clarify, and in some cases modify requirements to accurately reflect the realities of the railway network and to support successful system integration”.“Consequently, the evolution of requirements throughout the project has primarily been driven by the need to address previously unidentified constraints, interfaces, and operational behaviours rather than by any unilateral expansion of scope by Indra,” it added.The Spanish IT company also indicated it had experienced difficulties securing top-level meetings with Irish Rail management regarding the development of the TMS.“Indra considers this to be a highly complex project whose challenges require close collaboration between all parties involved,” the company told The Irish Times. “With this objective in mind, the company has recently sent a formal letter to the CEO of Irish Rail requesting a meeting to help provide the project with the momentum it requires, following several previous unsuccessful attempts to arrange such a meeting. “Indra remains fully committed to working constructively with Irish Rail to achieve a successful implementation of the project.”[ From brain to drain: How was €50m wasted on a planned IT system for Ireland’s rail network?Opens in new window ]A report provided by Irish Rail to the Dáil Public Accounts Committee this week reveals that Indra has so far received about €31 million as part of the TMS project. However, Indra also confirmed in a statement there is a dispute about an additional €5.67 million the contractor maintained it was owed. “This amount represents additional costs incurred by Indra during the current phase of the project as a consequence of rework arising from circumstances beyond Indra’s control, as well as costs associated with the implementation of additional functionalities,” it said. “These matters remain in dispute between Indra and Irish Rail and are subject to ongoing discussions and the parties’ respective contractual positions.”