Renfe already has an alternative plan

The tragic railway accident that occurred on Sunday, January 19 in Adamuz (Córdoba), which left at least 40 dead and 41 hospitalized, has completely cut off the high-speed line between Madrid and Andalusia. According to the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, the connection will not be fully operational again until February 2 or 3which represents an interruption of approximately two weeks in one of the most important railway corridors in the country.

Emergency solution. Renfe has activated since this Tuesday, January 20 an Alternative Transportation Plan which combines train and bus journeys. The operator has made it clear that this device “is designed to guarantee the mobility of travelers who must travel for strictly necessary reasons,” according to its official statement. The critical point of the plan is the section between Córdoba and Villanueva de Córdoba, which will be done by road, which will increase the total travel time.

The services available. The plan contemplates seven daily frequencies from Madrid to Andalusia: four to Seville (departures at 7:00, 11:00, 15:00 and 19:00) and three to Malaga (at 9:00, 13:00 and 17:00). In the opposite direction, there will be four departures from Seville and three from Malaga distributed throughout the day. The trains will make intermediate stops in Ciudad Real and Puertollano when traveling between Madrid and Villanueva de Córdoba, while services to Málaga will stop in Antequera.

Conventional route. In addition to the combined train-bus services, Renfe has enabled three special services by conventional route from Madrid Chamartín: one towards Seville (7:00 a.m.), another towards Cádiz (3:00 p.m.) and a third to Granada and Almería (4:25 p.m.). These trains, some in double composition to increase capacity, use the conventional network instead of high speed. The company has also reinforced the Madrid-Extremadura-Seville Media Distancia line with 736 additional seats.

Price. The complete Madrid-Seville or Madrid-Málaga ticket for the alternative plan has a fixed price of 40 euros in tourist class. Renfe also shares that affected passengers may request a full refund of their original ticket and purchase a new one for this alternative service, or request a ticket change with a refund of the difference.

Impact. On Monday, January 20 alone, more than 200 trains were affected by the suspension, according to they count from the EFE agency, including AVE, Alvia, Avlo, Ouigo and Iryo. Thousands of travelers have faced cancellations and have denounced on social media the lack of immediate alternatives and the high prices of available flights.

Although airlines such as Iberia and Air Europa they have added frequencies and with some prices capped at 150 euros, many users have preferred to take the bus or use car-sharing platforms such as Blablacar, which registered a 25% increase in trips published in Andalusia.

We still don’t know anything. The investigation of the accident focuses on a break detected in the road, although Minister Puente has insisted in which it is still unknown whether it is the cause or a consequence of the derailment. “There is a first breaking point in the track from which it is considered that the derailment has occurred, but it is one more indication, we must determine if it is the cause or the consequence,” he explained on Cadena Ser. Work in the area continues to clear the track and first restore one of the two affected lines before recovering full service.

In Xataka | Those affected by the railway cut in the Adamuz accident can breathe a sigh of relief: up to four days of leave