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It’s because hundreds of passengers had been stranded on Monday, July twenty eighth, 2025, and the Renfe practice service between Madrid, Andalusia and Barcelona confronted main disruptions.
The wildfire compelled a full rail shutdown on the South Line, however structural cracks found in Ablo’s new Avril fleet prompted the practice to withdraw from the Keemadrid and Barcelona passages.
Wildfires cease excessive pace trains in southern Spain
A severe wildfire broke out at Brazatortas at Ciudad Actual on Monday afternoon, inflicting an entire halt of rail visitors between Madrid and Andalusia. The flame, which produced a heavy column of smoke, threatened imaginative and prescient and security to the boundary between Puerterno and Ventalane. Infrastructure operator Adif has confirmed a short lived suspension of all providers by way of the area.
The hearth was declared a Stage 1 emergency on account of potential impacts on the infrastructure, and was deployed to InfoCam’s floor and air crew to include the flames. In consequence, a number of Renfe excessive pace providers, together with Ave, Avlo, Avant and Alvia, had been prevented from halting or leaving fully within the journey.
Amongst those that had been worst affected had been Ave 02140 and 02142 providers from Madrid to Seville and Malaga, each of which had been suspended in Puerto Trano. AVLO 02149 from Malaga to Madrid was taken into custody in Cordoba, whereas Albia 02135 from Cadiz to Madrid was additionally stopped in the identical space. Different providers between Madrid and Granada or Seville had been going through related suspensions and cancellations.
Avlo’s Avril practice was pulled from service after crack discovery
Whereas passengers within the southern half had been going through fire-related delays, vacationers on the Madrid and Barcelona line encountered a special type of downside. Renfe has confirmed that it’s pulling the Collection 106 AVRIL practice utilized in low-cost AVLO providers from operations as cracks are seen in vital structural elements.
The problem was found on July twenty first throughout a day by day inspection the place a crack was present in a bogie body on one unit. The bosie is a metallic construction that helps the wheels and absorbs vibrations. Following the invention, all 5 Avril trains on the route had been inspected. Renfe initially refused to droop providers, however inner messages to greater than 4,000 workers revealed that all the fleet can be briefly eliminated on account of an absence of substitute components.
In an announcement launched Friday, Renfe mentioned “the fleet shouldn’t be paralyzed and the practice has undergone scheduled inspections or substitute of elements as a part of common upkeep.”
However on the identical time, the corporate blocked ticket gross sales for AVLO providers all through August, however lately revitalised them after various trains had been organized. The route is now coated by older Collection 103 and 102 trains, with Collection 100 trains being redirected to different corridors like Seville.
A protracted checklist of technical points within the Avril fleet
The Avril fleet, manufactured by Targo, has been going through issues since day one. Supply was delayed by greater than two years, and Renfe fined its provider 116 million euros. This can be a penalty paid in installments till 2038.
On January 1st, a software program error prevented all items from realizing the change within the yr, paralyzing all the fleet, affecting greater than 14,000 passengers. Practically 500 system incidents have been recorded between Might and August alone. Renfe was in the end compelled to assign onboard technical employees to take care of frequent system failures in actual time.
The newest situation occurred final week when considered one of Avril’s trains collided with Buffer at John Santscrespo station. No accidents have been reported, however the entrance of the practice has been broken and the trigger has not but been confirmed.
To cut back the chance, Renfe has imposed a pace restrict of 250 km/h (down from 300 km/h) on the 190-kilometer part of the Madrid-Barcelona line.
Refunds and rewards for affected Renfe passengers
Renfe provides compensation for delays of 60 minutes or extra. Passengers who’re delayed for greater than an hour are entitled to 50 refunds per CENR, and those that are delayed for greater than 90 minutes can request a full refund. This is applicable to all business providers comparable to Ave, Alvia, Euromed, Intercity and extra. Avlo Trains are eligible, however are excluded from a number of reward choices, comparable to Renfe Factors and future reductions.
Vacationers can apply on-line by way of the “Punctual Commitments” part of renfe.com 24 hours after their confused journey. Refunds might be issued by way of the unique cost technique, a future journey voucher with a 50% bonus, or by way of Renfe Factors with a 100% bonus. The declare have to be submitted inside three months of your journey.
Because the fires intensify and technical points come up, confidence in Renfe’s skill to handle Spain’s major railway routes is starting to crack. Is the Spanish railway community on observe on account of stacking of delays, detours and ticket blocks?
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