Puente is now leaning towards not immediately cutting the Barcelona-Madrid high-speed line

Barcelona / MadridThe Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, has retracted and cooled the debate on a possible long and imminent closure of the Barcelona-Madrid high-speed line while the renovation work lasts. The idea, launched last week by the minister himself following the accident between two trains in Urda, in Toledo, reopened an old debate in the sector and generated rejection from the Generalitat. Puente clarified this Tuesday that it is a "debate," and completely ruled out that it is a measure that could be implemented immediately. “I want to make it clear that no decision has been made,” said Puente, who acknowledged that perhaps he did not explain himself well.

The minister has clarified that whether or not to apply models like the German one, which cuts off train traffic when there is work being done, is a debate within the railway sector. In Spain, on the other hand, until now they have always opted for another model, which is to keep at least one track open while work is being carried out on the other. This often extends the construction deadlines and generates more incidents, but, conversely, it guarantees the service.

In any case, if a change of model were to be considered, said Puente, it would not be for a matter of safety. “There are no safety reasons to take this decision,” insisted the minister. In fact, Puente had already spoken of other “motives,” such as the reputation of the rail service among the public due to punctuality levels.

The position of the Generalitat

The spokesperson for the Generalitat, Sílvia Paneque, explained in a press conference that the position of the Catalan executive is clearly that of keeping the service of the line between Barcelona and Madrid operational while the works are being carried out, even if it is in a “degraded” way or with “lower speeds”. However, the minister has conditioned its operation on the fact that “safety criteria are guaranteed”. “It is an infrastructure that moves many people,” remarked Paneque.

Thus, the minister has spoken in terms similar to those of President Salvador Illa this Monday, has downplayed the statements and the rectification by Puente and has assured that the minister limited himself to “opening a reflection”. In fact, the Government spokesperson has insisted that it is a “debate” that “has already been had in Catalonia” in other cases and that it is a decision that is taken “habitually” in other European countries. She also gave as an example that there are works of “great magnitude”, such as those affecting the R3, in which the service has had to be temporarily closed.