A fire in a train causes railway chaos on the high speed between Barcelona and Madrid

BarcelonaRailway chaos in the middle of the Pilar bridge return operation. High-speed rail between Barcelona and Madrid was cut off this Monday for practically the entire afternoon, from two in the afternoon until eight in the evening, due to a fire on a train in Aragon. Traffic is gradually returning to normal, as trains must travel on a single track between the stations of Ricla and Plasencia de Jalón, in Aragon, until the affected train is removed. At Sants station, for example, passengers who were supposed to leave at 17:30 were called over the loudspeaker around 20:30.

The reason for this suspension was an AVE train that suffered a fire in one of the cabins, forcing the evacuation of nearly 300 passengers near Zaragoza. The situation at some stations like Atocha, Sants, or Zaragoza—where they are celebrating the Pilar festivities—is complicated. Right now, there are about 5,000 passengers affected, just counting the 14 Renfe trains that were running at the time of the incident. All of them have been transferred to nearby stations. This figure does not include passengers from other companies or those who were supposed to travel on trains that did not even manage to depart.

According to Renfe, an AVE train left Madrid Puerta de Atocha at 14:27 bound for Figueres, but around 16:05, near Ricla, in Zaragoza, a fire was detected in the train's tail cabin. Following protocol, reports Renfe, the 283 passengers on board were evacuated, with no injuries recorded. As reported by the government of Aragon, the incident occurred at kilometer point 255, and one woman and one 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 check the damage to the overhead lines.

"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 quite a lot of smoke and the tail cabin was burning. Luckily it was not a passenger car," commented Barberan. The passengers moved to cars further forward and several doors were opened, but the height above the tracks prevented people from being able to jump off the train correctly. "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 off-roaders 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 rail traffic can resume in the area. "The entire overhead line has fallen due to the fire. From both tracks and all the power has been cut," concluded Natàlia. At 19:45, part of the passengers from the AVE affected by the fire were able to board a bus and will be taken 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 assistance measures for affected passengers, including the option to make ticket changes and refunds free of charge.