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Almost 7,000 passengers affected by a fault on the Madrid–Barcelona high-speed line
Services on the high-speed line between Madrid and Barcelona resumed this Wednesday after a difficult morning for thousands of passengers. A fault in the overhead line near Sant Vicenç dels Horts, caused by the effects of the storm in Catalonia, ultimately forced trains to be suspended for around two hours so the equipment could be repaired.
Until 11:00, when Adif decided to temporarily suspend services, the incident had affected 21 trains and 6,987 passengers. The average accumulated delay was around 35 minutes, according to data provided by the Ministerio de Transportes.
The problem had been located on the high-speed section between Sant Vicenç dels Horts and El Prat de Llobregat. To work on the overhead line, it was necessary to cut the electrical power, so Adif chose to stop traffic completely and prevent delayed trains from continuing to build up.
The repair was completed at midday. Adif declared services restored at 12:48 and trains began gradually returning to their usual timetables. For those travelling between Madrid and Barcelona during the afternoon, therefore, the situation is different from the early morning: the fault that caused the delays has already been resolved.
The railway day has also seen another problem in Tarragona, although it is a different incident. A cable theft affected the facilities between Reus and the Vila-seca junction and caused delays to regional and Rodalies trains running along that corridor.
That theft is not the cause of the delays recorded on the Madrid-Barcelona high-speed trains. They are two independent incidents that occurred on the same Wednesday: one on the overhead line of the high-speed route near Barcelona and another on the conventional network around Reus and Vila-seca.
Adif subsequently also declared the fault caused by the cable theft resolved and announced a gradual recovery of service. During the day, services on the R15, the RT1 and regional trains passing through Tarragona and Reus had been affected, among others.
For travellers from Madrid, the main point concerns high speed: almost 7,000 passengers were affected by a fault that first forced trains to run with delays and then brought the corridor to a complete halt. With the overhead line repaired since 12:48, Madrid-Barcelona traffic is operational again, although those travelling this Wednesday should check the specific status of their train for possible residual delays.