At 230 km/h in a 300 km/h section because the vibrations are excessive. It is the speed at which you will travel between Madrid and Calatayud (Zaragoza) if the driver decides so. The 200 kilometer stretch has been a source of controversy for some time and it was now that, after the Adamuz accident in Córdobaconcerns have increased.
What has happened? The train drivers would be traveling at 230 km/h on the section between Madrid and Calatayud (Zaragoza) because the vibrations are excessive, according to The Economist. They claim in the media that the machinists would have unilaterally decided to make this decision because the intensity of the vibrations is too high.
The decision would have come after Adamuz accident (Córdoba) in which an Iryo train has derailed and, according to the first investigationsa second Alvia train traveling in the opposite direction collided with it. It is also noted from The Economist that the decision would affect Renfe trains but that there are no similar communications in Ouigo and Iryo.
In addition, the newspaper also specifies that there would be Renfe personnel on the train itself warning travelers that delays will reach 15 minutes for this reason.
Can machinists do this? In Xataka We have contacted SEMAF (Spanish Union of Railway Machinists), the majority among this group, who assure us that they have no evidence that the machinists have decided collectively and unilaterally to reduce the speed of the track. It will be, according to SEMAF, at the discretion of each worker.
The union explains that the driver has the power to reduce the speed of the train or even stop it if he considers that the conditions of the track prevent adequate driving comfort due to excessive vibrations. In fact, those speed reductions were already occurring before the breakage of Talgo’s S-106 (Avril) trains.
This is what a machinist contacted by Xataka who prefers to keep his identity anonymous. He explains that it is each driver who decides how to act and that “we have not been told to do it (slow down the speed) either from the company or from the unions.”
The Calatayud controversy The 200 kilometer stretch between Madrid and Calatayud has been in the spotlight for some time. At the end of July 2025, Talgo’s AVRIL trains that Renfe uses for its AVLO services suffered cracks in their structure as a result of the vibrations generated when the trains passed.
So The Economist already announced the news and after a series of contradictory communications, Renfe ended up withdrawing the trains of the Madrid-Barcelona line, disregarding the AVLO service that has not been available again. Since then, Talgo and Adif are blaming themselves for what happened.
The chronology. From SEMAF, however, they do not share exactly all the points that are pointed out. According to its chronology, the events have happened as follows:
- AVRIL trains suffer cracks due to excess vibrations and are retired
- SEMAF sends a letter to Adif requesting that the speed be reduced
- Adif does not respond
- SEMAF reminds train drivers that they have the power to reduce speed if they consider there is a justified reason.
- For SEMAF, nothing has changed. The train drivers are the ones who decide, always with justification and indicating the reason to the command post, whether or not to reduce the speed.
- SEMAF emphasizes that they have not given an instruction from the union to reduce speed.
The vibrations. During the last few hours the controversy around the vibrations of the AVE has been increasing. From SEMAF, they may be caused by small damage to the track as a result of the passage of the trains themselves, which is why they ask that investment in maintenance is adequate to the increase in traffic in the liberalized corridors.
Of course, the union emphasizes that there is no risk of derailment due to these vibrations and they make it clear that it is a comfort problem for the passenger and generate greater stress on the infrastructure and the condition of the rolling stock. This means that actions have to be launched on the road or in workshops ahead of time. Furthermore, there is no evidence that they were the cause of the Adamuz accident.
“If we were clear that it was a danger to the road, we would stop traffic.” SEMAF has been so emphatic that it also emphasizes that the infrastructure is safe and that it is clear that if Adif detects a problem serious enough to cause a derailment, the line will be closed.
“We want to go home”. The Renfe driver with whom Xataka has been able to contact explains that “the tracks are deteriorated, we train drivers give a lot of information, and sometimes we are taken for crazy because we give too many parts”, the words are from a Renfe train driver who prefers to keep his name anonymous.
“As a result of the S-106 problems, it was proposed that the trains circulate at a slower speed. It is true that these deformities (the cracks) are due to the state of the track, to which we must add the terrible quality of the train. We also lowered them (the speeds) with other series of trains. Call it a prevention measure or care of the infrastructure,” explains the driver.
“The crew members complain, the interveners complain and we write complaints, because there are areas where we are having trouble,” he summarizes. Although he makes it clear that “if we understand that there is a danger to traffic, we call the command posts and they take measures by setting limitations, although for months we have also been taking them by slowing down. We are the first interested parties, we want to return home.”
Why do vibrations occur? Firstly, SEMAF points out that we are talking about the rolling stock being “steel against steel” so any imperfection will be more evident.
Vibrations can be caused by an imperfection in the road or an imperfection in the vehicle but it is a vicious circle. If an imperfection in the road causes “a flat” in the vehicle, the imperfection is magnified and this damage to the vehicle is constantly repeated by pure repetition.
Due to pure stress, if neither of the two elements is corrected, the imperfection worsens and the damage to the vehicle will be greater, requiring its repair. “It’s like if one day you drive down your street with your car and there is a pothole that cannot be fixed. At first it will be small and the damage to the car will be imperceptible, but as time goes by it gets bigger and the car suffers more. One day, that pothole is already a hole and it catches the car with the suspension element already weak and ends up breaking it. This, taken to the extreme, would be the same.”
What security measures are there? As we said, SEMAF has stressed to us that the investment should be greater but they trust the train drivers and Adif to remedy it before suffering an accident due to the vibrations of a train. They explain that train drivers have to fill out a report at the end of each trip in which they can reflect whether the condition of the track or the train components are suffering excessive wear.
In addition, they have the possibility, as we said, of reducing the speed and even stopping the vehicle by notifying the command post, but they also have an incident report to indicate specific points where they have detected irregularities that do not have to lead to an accident but can cause premature wear.
It must be made clear that none of this, with the data published from official sources, has a direct relationship with the Adamuz accident. Vibrations are an illness that the passenger suffers and that directly impacts premature wear of the track and train components. If there was a real danger for the passenger, the drivers and SEMAF make it clear that they would stop the train. Likewise, the union also confirms that it fully trusts Adif to guarantee the security of the infrastructure.
Photo |
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings