Months of notices from the train drivers, who They were traveling below the maximum speed allowed on the road, and with the images of the Adamuz train accident (Córdoba) very present, Adif has reduced the maximum speed at which you can travel on the Madrid-Barcelona high speed train to 160 km/h. This is all that has happened.
What has happened? Adif reduces the speed to 160 km/h in a section of 150 kilometers of the 667 kilometers that correspond to the Madrid-Barcelona route. The measure is temporary and, they announced this morning in Chain Being Before it became official, it was done after hearing the drivers complain that there were potholes in it that reduced driving comfort.
after the accident. The exceptional measure comes at a delicate moment. last sunday an Iryo train derailed on a straight line near the town of Adamuz. 20 seconds later, an Alvia train traveling in the opposite direction collided with the last carriages of the Italian train and derailed. When we write these lines, 41 deaths have been reported.
Since then, the videos have multiplied in which reference is made to the excessive vibrations of the high-speed trains that circulate through our country. However, the causes of the accident are unknown and It is very likely that it will take us months to know all the details. of what happened. There has been speculation about a defective switch, a stress-fractured track and train vibrations, but nothing has been confirmed by any official source.
What is happening in Madrid-Barcelona? For months now, train drivers have been reporting problems traveling at the maximum speed on the track, which in The now cut section was 300 km/h. The complaint about excessive vibrations has been reported by passengers but also by workers. “The crew members complain, the interveners complain and we write complaints, because there are areas where we are hitting boats,” a Renfe driver complains to Xataka who prefers to remain anonymous.
From SEMAF (Spanish Union of Railway Machinists) have confirmed to us that the machinists have been reporting considerable deterioration on the tracks for months, to the point of traveling at a speed below that expected. The height of the controversy came when last summer some S-106 trains known as the Talgo Avril cracked. Since then, Talgo and Adif blame each other for what happened.
How serious is it? From SEMAF they assure us that vibrations directly impact the running comfort and the useful life of the train components but they rule out that there is a risk of derailment for this reason.
From the General Council of Industrial Engineers share this vision: “the usual vibrations are foreseen in the design of both the train and the infrastructure. High-speed railway systems work with very wide safety margins,” they assure Xataka also pointing out that the perception of small irregularities on the road or in the rolling stock are amplified when driving at high speeds.
And the driver who has offered us his testimony thinks the same. “If we understand that there is a danger to traffic, we call the command posts and they take measures by putting limitations, although for months we have also been taking them by slowing down. We are the first interested parties, we want to return home,” he emphasizes.
First consequence. Adif’s decision is the first significant measure taken after the accident in Adamuz (Córdoba) in which 41 people have died and in which rescue work continues. It remains to be seen if more measures of this magnitude are taken but it must be remembered that the specific reason that led to the accident remains unknown.
Photo | André Marques on Wikimedia
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