It was scheduled for six thirty in the morning but, metaphorically, a new DANA forced to delay the restart of the high-speed line between Madrid and Valencia. “I’m finally coming home.”said Sofia20 years old. “Our lives are coming back little by little”continues. The young woman, she says, must have seen how her population, Ribaroja of Turialay flooded from her apartment in Madrid, where she studies at university.
The story repeats itself in a few more people. carmine40 years, explains, passing through the new terminal of the Chamartín Station, who tried to get to the capital all day Valencian Community. The reason for his frustration, he says, is the various cancellations this morning that a new red alert obliged to realize. Some passengers on six trains already scheduled and sold had to wait and stay in Madrid.
This is why the same train in which Carmina and Sofía are currently, the 12:30 p.m. one, also welcomes passengers from the previous train, the 11:30 a.m. one, and a “solidarity wagon” coordinated by the Red Cross. In this document, planned to travel on the first train departing from Madrid to Valencia, new humanitarian aid for those affected by one of the worst storms in Spanish history.
A group of passengers try to locate their car at Chamartín station before leaving for Valencia.
two weeks later
Just 15 days after the whole country began to deplore the numerous losses suffered by the Valencian Community, and more particularly by the region of South Garden, the rail service of high speed has been able to reestablish itself in what its own workers consider “record time” and “a success for Adif workers”.
Inside, the sensations are soft. “We had a lot desire to return now to try to help the people of Valencia by offering them our transportation. This morning I woke up with a lot of uncertainty but I know that if we come back, it’s because everything has been rebuilt well,” he explains. Janiremember of the Renfe crew.
Interior of the first AVE train which took over the line towards Valencia after the DANA.
Others not only return home, but resume their work relationships: “There are many days when I leave for Valencia in the morning and return in the afternoon. Without the AVE, which does it in two hours, it’s a real challenge“, explains Mario, who works for a large insurance company. During these two weeks he traveled in his personal vehicle, in which he does not like to travel, he says, mainly because he cannot work while driving.
A Scandinavian couple I boarded the train in Madrid as if time had not passed. Before the line was canceled by the destruction of DANA, It was very common to see foreigners traveling between Madrid and Valencia to get to know both cities. “These days we have gotten to know the capital and now we want to see the City of Arts and Sciences,” he explains. Nicholaswho, although aware of the flooding, did not know that train services had been affected.
Alfafar, Valencia
Getting through disaster
However, even if Madrilenians and Valencians were impatiently awaiting the restart of high speed on this route, the train sometimes remains empty. Even the union of the 11:30 a.m. service with the 12:30 a.m. service could not prevent the seats of the first AVE to arrive in the Valencian capital are not full. The reasons, explained by Renfe, are that a reopening of this caliber tends to result in a “gradual recovery”.
The truth is that even if almost no passengers board at the station Requena-Utielthe fact that the operator passes through here, without any inconvenience, seems like a hallucination. Through the windows, you can still see the muddy terrain and the damage that the passage of the flood left in this city.
Just at the stop, Married30 years old, starts to cry as he walks down the hallway. Two hours earlier, the woman had declared in front of television cameras that he felt guilty for not being able to come and help sooner. Upon seeing the scene, an American tourist who does not speak Spanish and whose daughter lives in Spain whispers to her why she is crying.
“Renfe con Valencia”, the vinyl message on the locomotive of the first AVE train to return to Valencia.
Image of the platform of the Valencia – Joaquín Sorolla station when the AVE train arrives.
Faced with the explanations received, he sighs and does not know how to react. “What happened in Utiel was really hard”says her daughter, who followed the drama through the media. The journey continues and the Talgo train, series 112, begins to run at full speed in certain tunnels, such as that of chiva or that of Torrent, which remained completely broken, mistreated and even demolishedas if nothing had happened before.
But when arriving at the station Valence It becomes clear that not everything is the same. The passengers, when they disembark, cannot talk about anything else. Some walk hurriedly, others hold their breath, but everyone is thinking the same thing.. “What we have experienced since October 31? There are no words to describe it.”
