Railway chaos in the middle of the return operation: high-speed service is partially restored

BarcelonaHigh-speed rail traffic between Madrid and Barcelona is returning to operation progressively and with interruptions after being stopped all afternoon this Monday, in the middle of the return operation for the October 12th long weekend. The reason for this suspension was an AVE train that suffered a fire in one of its cabins, forcing the evacuation of almost 300 passengers near Zaragoza. The situation at some stations such as Atocha, Sants, or Zaragoza—where they are celebrating the Pilar festivities—is complicated. Adif sources indicate that the reopening of the service will be with limitations, as it will be necessary to circulate on a single track between the stations of Ricla and Plasencia de Jalón, in Aragon, until the affected train is removed. This may cause delays.

Right now, there are about 5,000 travelers affected just counting the 14 Renfe trains that were circulating at the time of the incident. All of them have been transferred to nearby stations. This figure does not include travelers from other companies or those who had to travel on trains that did not even manage to depart.

According to Renfe, an AVE train departed from Madrid Porta d'Atocha at 14:27 hours bound for Figueres, but around 16:05, near Ricla, in Zaragoza, a fire was detected in the train's rear cabin. Following the protocol, Renfe reports, the 283 passengers on board were evacuated, without any injuries being recorded. According to the government of Aragon, the incident occurred at kilometer point 255 and a woman and a person with reduced mobility required medical assistance. The Zaragoza Provincial Council (DPZ) firefighters extinguished the fire, which affected the train's locomotive and the closest part of the following carriage. Now, Adif has already been able to review the damage to the catenary.

"Luckily it wasn't a passenger carriage"

Natàlia Barberan, a resident of Porqueres, was traveling on the affected train and explained to the ACN that, after passing Calatayud, an alarm began to sound inside the convoy. "We realized there was a lot of smoke and the tail cabin was burning. Luckily, it wasn't a passenger carriage," commented Barberan. Passengers moved to forward carriages and several doors were opened, but the height above the tracks prevented people from jumping off the train safely. "My brother-in-law has been carrying everyone in his arms and now we are in the middle of a field," she explained. "There is nothing here and we are waiting for some vehicles or all-terrain vehicles to take us to a station or sports center," stated Natàlia.

"Luckily, there were no injuries. Only one person had a panic attack and another had a migraine attack," specified Barberan, who thanked the work of local residents and Red Cross volunteers. "We see two buses about two kilometers away, but they cannot get close here because there are no roads," lamented the resident of Pla de l'Estany. "Now we are forming a human chain to take all the suitcases off the train and waiting for news from the Civil Guard," continued Barberan, who sees it as quite unlikely that high-speed traffic can resume in the area. "The entire overhead line has fallen due to the fire. On both tracks and all the power has been cut," concluded Natàlia. At 7:45 PM, some of the passengers of the AVE affected by the fire were able to board a bus and will be transported to Zaragoza.

Diversions

The incident has forced the suspension of rail traffic between Madrid and Barcelona, which is causing train delays at various stations along the line and the cancellation of departures scheduled for this afternoon. Renfe has activated support measures for affected passengers, including the option to change or refund tickets free of charge.