The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, has spoken in Lugo about the chaos that occurred this weekend at the Madrid stations of Chamartín and Atocha that have affected around 18,000 High Speed, Medium Distance and Cercanías passengers. Puente has assured that they are working to free one of the two tunnel lanes affected where a train has derailed and overturned and that it is possible that this Monday there will be “normal operation.”
The head of Transport explained that this Saturday there were “two different things and both very serious.” Firstly, the derailment of a train “that was towed to the workshop in the tunnel that connects Chamartín with Atocha.” This circumstance, he reported, “did not cause serious operational problems because the missing trains were going to be taken out through Atocha.”
«We must investigate the causes of the accident, it is not normal for a train that is towed to the workshop to detach as it seems it did and end up against a tunnel wall, it is something truly serious, fortunately there have been no victims of accidents. no type. But it is a serious fact and I hope that the investigation will clarify what the reasons are. why this has happened,” Puente noted to affirm that it is possible that the removal of the derailed train will be resolved sooner than expected.
Two hours or so after this incident occurred, a person threatened to jump onto the tracks at the Atocha station, by order of the authorities. The catenary voltage of all tracks had to be cut for more than two hours. This Sunday, far from solving the problem, railway traffic has been seriously affected with the suspension of 22 trains, apart from the cancellation of the sale of tickets by Renfe for this Monday for the Madrid-Chamartín and the Valencian Community routes. and Murcia, which are the corridors affected by the tunnel blockade and 26 convoys are affected at the station
Relocation of more than 1,000 travelers
Renfe has announced that it will relocate this afternoon 1,074 passengers on services scheduled for today that had been announced as canceled due to the derailment of a convoy without passengers on Saturday in the tunnel that connects the Atocha and Chamartín stations. As reported by the company in a statement, one of the two services announced as canceled from Alicante-Madrid has been rescheduled, with 365 travelers in total. Specifically, 106 AVLO is activated and will depart at 7:45 p.m. this Sunday.
Likewise, two Valencia-Madrid services eliminated (with 444 passengers in total) from 5:42 p.m. to 6:31 p.m.: they will be offered with a double composition of Medium Distance (MD) by conventional route.
On the other hand, for the Gandía-Valencia-Madrid route scheduled at 7:20 p.m. with 265 passengers in total, transport alternatives will be guaranteed. Renfe has also reported that the eight scheduled trains scheduled for this afternoon are verified in terms of material availability.
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