High-speed circulation suspended between Barcelona and Madrid due to a train fire in Aragon

BarcelonaHigh-speed rail traffic between Madrid and Barcelona is completely interrupted this Monday afternoon, in the middle 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, a day during which high mobility was expected because it is the end of the long weekend.

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 protocol, Renfe reports, 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. The Zaragoza Provincial Council (DPZ) firefighters are working to extinguish the fire, which has affected the train's locomotive and the nearest part of the next carriage. As the provincial institution specified, upon arrival, the passengers had already been evacuated and no personal injuries had to be regretted.

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 changes and ticket refunds free of charge. For the moment, neither Renfe nor Adif sources dare to say when the situation will return to normal. "At the moment it is not possible to determine how long the incident will last and, predictably, the situation will remain this way throughout the day today," stated Renfe in a message on social media.