He Rail traffic once again experienced a dark day in Spainthis Saturday, the consequences of which have lasted for hours. And when an incident of the seriousness of what happened this Saturday afternoon occurs, which forced the suspension of rail traffic, the domino effect is complete, its effects spread in one way or another practically throughout the peninsula and the hours pass until normality is restored. restored. On this occasion, the chaos was caused by two incidents that occurred just four hours apart and both in Madrid: first, the derailment of an AVE without passengers while it was taking the underground tunnel which connects the Madrid stations of Chamartín and Atocha; Then, the detection of an individual in an unauthorized area triggered a police alert which led to the complete blocking of the Atocha station, with the absolute suspension of all train circulation not only in the station but also at kilometers from it.
THE Rail traffic has been completely suspended for two hours in the big knot that is the Madrid Atocha station and several kilometers around, because the power supply was cut off and the arrival of trains which were in the middle of their journey was prevented.
Atocha is the point of origin and departure of AVE, Cercanías and conventional trains with several points in Spain, so the complete suspension of all rail traffic extends its effect on the main rail corridors of the country. Chaos broke out this Saturday late in the afternoon, after a police alert due to the presence of an individual “at an unauthorized access point”.
As reported, this incident occurred a few hours after the derailment of a train traveling through the underground railway tunnel that connects Madrid’s Atocha and Chamartín stations. This derailment completely affected the circulation of AVE trains between Madrid and the entire eastern area of Spain.
The convoy, as OKDIARIO reported, was empty and contained only two drivers who were carrying out maintenance tasks. They suffered bruises, but managed to escape on their own and were taken care of by Samur emergency services dispatched to the scene.
Just four hours after the accident, Renfe released a brief statement on social media reporting the complete suspension of train operations at Atocha station. That is to say, the entry and exit of trains has been completely eliminated. Everything stopped.
“At the request of the security forces and bodies, the tension was eased [eléctrica] at Madrid Puerta de Atocha station due to the presence of a person at an unauthorized access point”, is indicated in this message from Renfe, which highlights that the result of this incident is “the suspended circulation of trains Alta Speed, Long and Medium Distance and Commuter.
At the request of security forces and bodies, voltage was cut at Madrid Puerta de Atocha station due to the presence of a person at an unauthorized access point. Suspended circulation of high-speed, long and medium distance and suburban trains.
– InfoRenfe (@Inforenfe) October 19, 2024
At 9:45 p.m., rail traffic resumed. This was reported to OKDIARIO by travelers who were on board one of the high-speed trains heading to Madrid and which was stopped in Guadalajara.
Atocha station is a key hub for high-speed trains on the axis that connects Madrid to Andalusia, as well as that which connects the Spanish capital to Zaragoza, Barcelona and the French border, which also includes intermediate stations of Guadalajara, Calatayud and Lérida, as well as branches integrated or derived from this AVE corridor, such as Tarragona, Logroño, Pamplona or Huesca. In addition, Atocha is also essential in the Cercanías rail connections between Madrid and Guadalajara, known as the Henares Corridor. And it is also a fundamental node for rail communications with conventional trains with several points in the country.
