Railway chaos: a fire on a train leaves thousands affected in the middle of the return operation

BarcelonaHigh-speed rail traffic between Madrid and Barcelona is completely interrupted this Monday afternoon, in the midst of the return operation for the October 12th long weekend. The reason for this suspension is an AVE train that suffered a fire in one of its cabins. Right now, no high-speed trains are running between the two cities and departures scheduled for this afternoon are already being cancelled, on a day when high mobility was expected. The situation at some stations such as Atocha, Sants, or Zaragoza—where they are celebrating the Pilar festivities—is complicated.

Renfe's deputy director general, Sergio Bueno, has acknowledged that it is not yet possible to specify when high-speed service will resume because they are waiting for Adif to assess the damage caused to the infrastructure. Bueno explained that they are working on an alternative transport plan between Calatayud and Zaragoza. There are about 5,000 travelers 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 had not even departed yet.

According to Renfe, an AVE train departed from Madrid Puerta de Atocha at 14:27 hours bound for Figueres, but around 16:05, near Ricla, in Zaragoza, a fire was detected in the train's tail cabin. Following protocol, Renfe reports that the 283 passengers on board were evacuated, with no injuries reported. 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. Firefighters from the Zaragoza Provincial Council (DPZ) extinguished the fire, which affected the train's locomotive and the nearest part of the following carriage.

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 train. "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 track 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 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 paths," 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. From both tracks and all power has been cut," concluded Natàlia. At 7:45 PM, part 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 traffic between Madrid and Barcelona, which is causing train delays at different stations along the line and the cancellation of departures scheduled for this afternoon. Renfe has activated assistance measures for affected travelers, including the possibility of making ticket changes and refunds free of charge.

Bueno explained that the passengers of the 14 trains that were in circulation at the time it started have been led to nearby stations, such as Guadalajara, Calatayud, Zaragoza, or Lleida. All of them are being assisted by the Red Cross. Renfe estimates that there are about 4,500-5,000 people. While waiting to know the state of the infrastructure, an alternative transport plan is being prepared between Calatayud and Zaragoza. Renfe expects that there may be trains that will pick up the passengers, but has remarked that the service will have to stop during the night for maintenance.