Adif maintains the speed limit on the Barcelona-Madrid AVE train and extends it to Valencia as well.
The public company is taking this decision following complaints from train drivers.
MadridIt was supposed to be temporary, but it will ultimately last longer than expected. Adif has decided to maintain the temporary speed restriction on the Barcelona-Madrid high-speed rail line following a complaint from a train driver, even though early Wednesday morning it announced that service was returning to normal along almost the entire route. However, this is not the only section affected after the Adamuz accident, where the condition of the tracks is being investigated as a possible cause of the crash: sources at La Moncloa (the Prime Minister's office) have reported that speed will also be restricted on the Valencia-Madrid route due to complaints from another train driver. In the case of the section affecting Barcelona, the speed will be limited to 160 kilometers per hour on a stretch between kilometer markers 100 and 178, between Madrid and Zaragoza, out of a total distance of 667 kilometers. This decision was made after a Renfe train driver "complained about the track."
In the case of Valencia, the impact is less severe: it affects 1.8 kilometers of track. According to sources at La Moncloa (the Prime Minister's office), a train driver complained of the following issues: a "hard jolt" at the Villarubia turnout; a "train shaking" at one point on the track, in addition to several "sudden movements." Tonight, as was done previously on the Barcelona-Madrid route, the track will be inspected to try to assess the "damage."
In an interview on Telecinco, the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, justified the first temporary speed restriction because yesterday train drivers reported 25 incidents on the section between Madrid and Barcelona, which he attributed to the "moral state" of railway workers following the death of the Alvia train driver to Adamuz and the collapse of a wall that has encroached onto the tracks.
Regarding high-speed rail, Puente clarified that following these reports, a track inspection was carried out, and it was found that of these 25 reports, four require a "review." Sources from the Ministry of Transport specified that practically all the reported incidents were caused by the train driver himself. This worker reported 21 incidents on Tuesday and 13 on Wednesday morning. Furthermore, the ministry added that there had been hardly any complaints previously.
On another note, the minister also defended the announcement he made two and a half months ago, in which he stated that the AVE (high-speed train) would soon reach speeds of 350 kilometers per hour. something the PP has already criticizedPuente said he secured it as part of the complete renovation of the line that will take place shortly.
