Adif requests the suspension of the last high-speed train journeys of the day between Madrid and Barcelona.

BarcelonaProblems are piling up on the high-speed rail line between Madrid and Barcelona. Adif, the infrastructure manager, which has been working for days to correct all the defects in the train network, has asked all operators serving this line to cancel the last trains of the day to allow more time for on-site work. Renfe, Iryo, and Ouigo will now have to cancel the last trains of the day because the measure—which only affects this corridor—comes into effect today. The fact is that with all the speed limits that had been established for safetyHigh-speed train journeys are so long that the last trains of the day occupy part of the nighttime maintenance period, which is used for thorough inspections and repairs of the infrastructure while there is no commercial service. Sources at Adif (Spain's railway infrastructure manager) have reportedly indicated that there is not enough time available to carry out the "adequate" checks. Renfe (Spain's high-speed rail company) has been the first operator to specify exactly which trains are affected by this cancellation. The Spanish operator, which provides the AVE high-speed service, explained that starting this Monday, it is canceling the journeys that departed from Madrid (Atocha station) at 8:27 p.m. and 9:07 p.m. and arrived at Sants at midnight. The train that departed from Barcelona (Sants) at 9:05 p.m. and arrived at Atocha shortly before midnight is also canceled.

"Automatic relocations have been carried out for passengers affected by these cancellations," the company explained. Spokespeople report that they will be offering double-unit trains to ensure seat availability. "Renfe is informing customers of their new train, carriage, and seat, resulting from the automatic relocation process. They will also be offered the option of making changes or cancellations free of charge if the proposed alternative does not meet their needs," they detailed. Sources consulted indicate that the French operator Ouigo could presumably make similar changes.

For its part, the Italian company Iryo, which also operates on the Madrid-Barcelona corridor, reports that last week it already decided "to cancel the last services between Madrid and Barcelona to guarantee turnaround times and service," so Adif's request today does not alter its plans.

Last week, travel times and schedules for high-speed trains on the Barcelona-Madrid line were completely disrupted after a crack was detected in the track near Espluga de Francolí, in Tarragona. This forced the speed to be limited to 80 km/h on some sections, whereas high-speed trains normally reach speeds of 300 km/h. This incident, which occurred last Monday, was compounded by the accumulation of snow on the Meseta plateau due to the storm and the chaos caused on the commuter rail network by a failure at the rail traffic control center. Since then, the service has continued to experience delays and track congestion. "Trucks are passing us," a witness explained to ARA last Monday from the dining car of the AVE train that had departed early in the morning from Madrid bound for Figueres and took more than four and a half hours to reach the Camp de Tarragona region.

Commuter rail service has not yet returned to normal

While commuter rail continues operating at half capacity. The government had promised "normality" this Monday, but that didn't happen either. Conventional train service began the week with "mobility on all lines" but also with several bus services—to cover the sections that are still closed—and more than a hundred speed restrictions for safety reasons. The fact is that Adif staff are still working at 31 points on the network, spread across all lines, and cannot guarantee that service will be back to normal this Monday. The points under review are different from those of last week, because some have already been cleared, but others have been added.

Early this morning, Renfe's spokesperson in Catalonia, Antonio Carmona, appeared before the media again: "We want to provide certainty," Carmona said, "and the first certainty is that mobility is guaranteed, whether by train or road. The second is that we continue working, Renfe and Adif," he insisted. The most positive news is that Cercanías (commuter rail) has resumed train service on the R11 line between Figueres and Portbou. However, lines R1, RG1, R3, R4, R7, R8, RL4, R13, R14, R15, and RT1 still have some sections with alternative road transport. The Minister of Territory, Sílvia Paneque, has assured that her department will maintain "all available resources" to address the "unprecedented" crisis facing Cercanías. During a meeting at the Ministry of Public Works, Paneque acknowledged that these are "difficult days for mobility" for both passengers and freight, but promised that the Government is focused on resolving the problem. "We are aware of Adif's extraordinary effort to ensure the safety of the networks," she added.

The commissioner for the transfer of the commuter rail service, Pere Macias, went a step further, stating that Adif (Spain's railway infrastructure manager) is doing "extremely intense work" and admitting that "it has probably been slightly overwhelmed." Speaking to the ACN news agency, Macias explained that initially there was a "limited number of points to inspect" which "have since multiplied." "We expected things to be better, but new issues have arisen and they must be inspected; there's no way around it," he concluded. Regarding freight traffic, Macias anticipates that Adif will carry out work in the Rubí tunnel and that "sometime during the week" it may be "partially or not fully reopened."