accident

The Adamuz accident has plunged demand for the AVE by 30%. It is a fact that hides something worse: mistrust

by

The high-speed accident in Adamuz (Córdoba) has turned the Spanish railway upside down. Closures, speed restrictions and a loss of credibility in the service have directly impacted the sales of the three companies that operate on Spanish roads. And it has translated into data: a 30% drop in sales. The data. Demand for high-speed trains has fallen by 30%, according to data collected by Trainlinea railway ticket price comparator that operates in our country. The information was released by Pedro García, its general director in Europe and Spain, at an event organized by the company this week. According to this platform, the demand for banknotes has fallen by 30% in the weeks following the Adamuz accident (Córdoba) in which 46 people died after an Iryo derailed and, still under investigationthe subsequent crash and derailment of an Alvia that was traveling in the opposite direction. No trust. We could say that it hints at it but it is almost a cry: the customer is distrustful of high speed. It is not only a question of security, the drop in demand is undoubtedly influenced by speed restrictions that have been imposed and the cancellations late in the day between Madrid and Barcelona. It must be taken into account that, in just over a month, we have had the following schedule on the Spanish railway lines: Later. In the current state of high-speed lines, only one thing is clear: the train is going to arrive later. First of all, because Adif is reviewing all avenues and that requires, for example, In Madrid-Barcelona, ​​25 minutes have already been added by default to the journey. And that is in the best of cases. Because as reported by a train driver Xatakathose who drive the trains have the power to stop the train or move more slowly if they consider that the tracks are not safe or, at least, not at maximum speed. Their repeated complaints have led to temporary speed limitations that have been activated and deactivated but, ultimately, yours is the last word. This situation has been experienced with the reopening of the Madrid-Seville line. The driver, passing through the Adamuz section He stopped the train thinking that something was happening on the premises.. Then it turned out that, simply, confusion had arisen due to repairs carried out. to the plane. This distrust has caused a transfer of passengers to the plane. And the thing is that, especially companies, have been putting aside the use of the train for daily trips between Madrid and the large capitals of Spanish provinces. Especially in the Madrid-Barcelona route, where business use of the train was very high, demand for air travelers skyrocketed to the point that Iberia capped dynamic prices at 99 euros. The Ombudsman even asked the CNMC to study the price increases that were experienced in the following days in airlines and car rental companies. The rise in demand for aircraft between Madrid and Barcelona has been such that Vueling has returned to the Air Bridgea route that had abandoned in a movement where, without a doubt, The arrival of Ouigo and Iryo on Spanish roads had influenced. And an impact on the accounts. The combo of cancellations, high-speed restrictions and insecurity in arriving at the agreed time has caused a hole in the accounts of the large railway companies. According to theEconomistalready in January 2025 the losses were recorded at more than one million euros per day if only the cut in the southern corridor was taken into account. In The reason They raise the impact to a loss of 109 million euros in Malaga tourism alone. Losses that are yet to be quantified for companies but that arrive at a bad time, just when Ouigo and Iryo aspired to make money in our country after completing its landing phase. Photo | Samson Ng. D201@EAL In Xataka | The first AVE trains are more than 30 years old and are still in circulation: Renfe has not yet found a company for their maintenance

After the Fukushima nuclear accident, the pigs on the farms fled into the forest. Years later they were something different

by

March 11, 2011 was one of the darkest days in Japan’s recent history. And probably the worst so far in the 21st century. An intense earthquake recorded off Honshu unleashed a tsunami with waves of more than ten meters that ended up precipitating an accident at the Fukushima plant. You have to go back to 1986, to Chernobyl, to find a similar incident. Today we know that that chain of misfortunes had an unexpected consequence: it gave rise to an involuntary experiment with pigs and wild boars. Pigs on the run. After the Fukushima Daiichi accident in March 2011, authorities rushed to evacuate all the people living in a radius of 20 kilometers of the nuclear power plant. Even those residing 20 to 30 km away were advised not to leave their homes. Today, a decade and a half later, we know that the Fukushima incident had another consequence: the pigs that until then were raised in domestic farms fled and took refuge in the forests, places that until then had served as home to wild boars. An XXL laboratory. The escape of the Fukushima pigs (and their clash with the wild boar populations) could have remained a minor anecdote if it were not for the fact that it gave rise to a curious improvised experiment. An involuntary one, which no one had planned, but which, due to the chances of history, ended up turning the forests of the exclusion zone into a gigantic zoological laboratory. The reason? Escaped pigs and wild boars ended up mating. “Without repeated introductions and minimal human activity, the region became a rare natural hybridization experiment,” explains Fukushima University. The experience was certainly interesting enough to attract the attention of Shingo Kaneko and Donovan Anderson, from Hirosaki, who decided to carry out a genetic study to better understand the results of crossing pigs and wild boars. Their conclusions have just been expressed in a published article a few days ago in the magazine Journal of Forest Research. What did they find out? Perhaps the most surprising has to do with the renewal of populations. Domestic pigs and wild boars differ not only in their appearance. They also show different patterns. For example, while the latter reproduce once a year, the former, the pigs we raise on farms, show a much faster cycle throughout the year. Kaneko’s study shows that this peculiarity of domesticated animals was maintained after their escape and was transmitted during hybridization through the mother. five generations. There is one piece of information that helps to better understand how accelerated its reproduction rate has been. For their study, the researchers analyzed the mitochondrial DNA and genetic markers of more than 200 animals captured over three years, between 2015 and 2018. One of the first questions they tried to clarify was: How related were these specimens to the pigs that escaped in 2011? How many came from that domestic lineage? Their conclusion was surprising: many hybrids were already more than five generations away from the original cross, suggesting “unusually rapid genetic renewal.” they add from Fukushima University. “Although it has previously been suggested that hybridization between pigs reintroduced into the wild and wild boar could contribute to population growth, this study shows, by analyzing a large-scale hybridization event following the Fukushima nuclear accident, that the rapid reproductive cycle of domestic pigs is inherited through the maternal lineage.” A diluted inheritance. It was not the only conclusion that the experts reached. Another, just as curious, is how hybrid creatures evolved. That domestic females favored a higher rate of reproduction does not mean that their inheritance was more pronounced. Quite the opposite. Farm sows energized generational renewal, but the initial strength of their genes was diluted little by little. “Rather than prolonging the genetic influence of domestic pigs, maternal pig lineages actually accelerated genetic turnover in wild boar populations,” apostille from Fukushima. Why is it important? The research is not interesting only for what it reveals to us about the Fukushima exclusion zone. Their conclusions go further and have practical implications for the rest of the world. Experts have long been concerned about hybridization between domestic and wild animals (especially between pigs and wild boars) due to its ecological repercussions. Curiously, the accident that occurred in Japan in 2011 has offered researchers a huge laboratory to better understand the phenomenon and how to address it. “The findings can be applied to wildlife management and invasive species damage control strategies,” Kaneko celebrates. “By understanding that the pig’s maternal lineage accelerates generational turnover, authorities can better predict the risks of population explosion.” Images | Max Saeiling (Unsplash), Wikipedia and Fukushima University In Xataka | An unprecedented experiment is happening in Ukraine: bombs have turned dogs into other animals

a weld between tracks from 1989 and 2023 in the spotlight of the Adamuz accident

by

The liberalization of the tracks and the multiplication of the number of trains that have to pass through them is the reason why a track fractured at high speed near Adamuz, Córdoba, causing an accident that has ended with 45 deaths and 22 people in the hospital, five of them in the ICU. That is the position, at least preliminary, of Iñaki Barrón, president of CIAF, entity in charge of the investigation of the biggest railway accident in our country since train derailment in Angrois (Santiago de Compostela) that ended the lives of 80 people. With the first investigations on the table, the indications suggest that the Iryo train derailed due to a fracture in a weld between rails carried out during the renovation last May. The fracture would have left traces on the first carriages of the Italian train and on the trains that circulated on that track that same day. At the time of the derailment, an Alvia train was traveling in the opposite direction and passed in a very short period of time (there was talk of 20 seconds at first but now it is pointed out that it could have been nine seconds) that prevented him from stopping before crashing. The blow caused the second derailment and the Renfe train ended up at the bottom of a four-meter embankment. It was on this train that the majority of the deceased were counted. In an interview with The CountryBarrón defends that the roads have endured slight traffic until the liberalization that put Ouigo and Iryo to compete with Renfe but that the mere multiplication of routes does not explain the breakdown of the tracks. Ensure the following on the affected lane: “For a long time it has had relatively light traffic. Lately, it has endured a little more intensity, but the lines should still give much more being of high capacity. The current traffic is by no means saturation. What was decided was to renew the detours, which are very critical elements and it was clear that it had to be done” In the interview, the president of CIAF explains how the renewal of the tracks is carried out and points out that the use of tracks manufactured in 1989 should not be a cause for alarm. On the contrary, the first bet from the investigative committee It was the welding that joined a section manufactured in 1989 with one manufactured in 2023 that really failed, leading to the breakage of the track and subsequent derailments. How two tracks are welded 34 years apart In recent days, the information regarding the Adamuz railway accident has focused on one fact: one of the split rails was manufactured in 1989. Adif, in the comprehensive renovation of the track, decided that it would not change sections that were more than 30 years old but this should not be a problem in itself, according to the president of CIAF: (On why Adif did not change all the lanes in 1989) “That is what we have asked, why the lanes have not been changed. Maybe it was not planned or should not be done. Many people have interpreted that when we talk about a comprehensive renovation, practically all the material is changed, and that everything that is usable goes to other lines, not high-speed lines. That has been done all our lives. When we realized that the detours had been changed, because that is what It was critical and there had been some incidents in the past, and also some more pieces of rail, but not all of them, we asked Adif about it. The fact that we continue with rails manufactured in 1989 is not particularly serious in itself. It is not something to raise our hands as long as they were in a position to provide service. But we have to carefully analyze the issue of renovation to see exactly what has been done and how it has been done. To questions from Xatakahe General Council of Industrial Engineers They point out that “it makes all the sense in the world” to point to welding as the source of the problem. “The joint is a unique point on the track. First because it is a discontinuity and any millimeter imperfection is amplified as the wheels pass. And second, because the welding process generates a zone that is thermally affected around it and can generate residual stresses.” And they emphasize: “when a rail breaks, the typical hypothesis, and which seems to be being confirmed, is that the break begins in the weld or in its immediate surroundings and from there evolves to the final failure.” Regarding the reason why the welding could have failed, the CIAF and the General Council of Industrial Engineers point to examinations in laboratories to determine what could have happened. The experts consulted by Xataka they point out that the Causes why a weld can fail in their execution they are multiple: Execution problems: such as the creation of a pore due to not reaching the appropriate melting temperature. Geometric finishing problem: a millimeter-sized burr or microstep is generated Problems with alignment: the alignment between lanes is not perfect These same experts point out that the derailment can be caused by various factors and that, by itself, one of the previous causes does not have to explain the entire problem. They point out that the laboratories will have to confirm if there was a previous problem in the material, if a failure occurred during the welding process and to what extent the thermal conditions and the frequency of train passage could have aggravated the problem. All of these are problems that revolve around two issues to take into account. The first points to the different degree of hardness of the steel between the rails. The 1989 track was made up of R260 steel, which is softer than the R350 HT steel that makes up the track produced in 2023. “The base steel is very similar,” they … Read more

the leaked audio of the Adamuz accident between the Iryo and Atocha driver

by

“There’s no train coming.” It is the key phrase of the audio that elDiario.es has been published exclusively and in which the conversation between the driver of the Iryo train and the command post is heard. The audio is extracted from the black box of the Italian train that, according to what is knownwould have derailed and seconds later would have been hit by an Alvia that was traveling in the opposite direction, being thrown to the side of the track and to the bottom of a four-meter embankment. The conversation between the driver and the control center traffic has raised all kinds of speculation but, for now, it is part of an investigation that is expected to be very long and that can extend for months. Therefore, trying to conclude what happened or what elements caused the first and second derailments are mere speculation. In fact, the president of Renfe himself, Álvaro Fernández Heredia, pointed out in the first hours that could not be definitively stated that the Alvia train had collided with the Italian vehicle. Audio and its implications In the leaked audios, Iryo’s driver contacts the command center in Atocha to which he explains that he has had “a hitch” on the track. From there they ask him for a contact telephone number and to lower the pantographs, to which the driver responds that he has already carried out the operation. The pantographs are the elements that connect the train with the catenary and, therefore, with the electrical network. A hitch occurs when there is a problem with the pantograph or catenary. In that case, the train is stopped and may suffer a strong deceleration, like a kind of anchor that prevents it from continuing to move forward. In fact, the driver himself explains in the audio that the train is completely blocked. At that point, the communication is cut off and (if there is no skipped audio in between) the driver informs Atocha that has suffered a derailment and is occupying the adjacent track. At that moment, he requests that traffic be stopped immediately and from the command post they assure him that “there is no train arriving.” Next, the person in front of the Iryo train requests that they send emergency services, from ambulances to firefighters, because there is a car on fire and there are injured people on board. The driver then reports that he is leaving the cabin and the audio cuts out. From the audio it is striking that no reference is made to the Alvia (Renfe) train which, it is assumed, would have collided with the Iryo cars and subsequently derailed. Neither the driver nor the command center are aware that this has happened, which opens up two possibilities. With no official information still on the table, what we have remains mere speculation. One possibility is that the impact of the Alvia occurred almost immediately after the derailment with the Iryo and hit it slightly but enough so that the driver, in a stressful situation trying to emergency brake his vehicle, did not notice it. A blow, however slight, at more than 200 km/h could have caused the second derailment and explains why the trains were found 700 meters apart. If this is the case, it is also possible that the driver did not realize at first (in that period between communications in which he announces that he is going to verify the situation of his train) that there is a second accident vehicle because the distance and the fall to the embankment would have hidden the Alvia. Two competing theories This possibility is what the Minister of Transport himself, Óscar Puente, has pointed out. Initially, a time gap of about 20 seconds was targeted between the departure of the first Iryo and the impact of the Alvia. The proximity between both trains would not have allowed the security system warn of the obstacle on the track and stop the train. Now, Puente believes that barely nine seconds passed between the derailment of the Iryo and the impact of the Renfe train. The head of Transportation ensures This would explain why the driver is not aware that a second train has collided with his vehicle. The other possibility is that the Alvia had not yet reached the accident area when the engineer contacted the command post on the second occasion. However, Puente has indicated that the second communication occurs “between three and four minutes after the first”. This means that, if the Alvia train had not collided or had not passed next to the Iryo at the time of the accident, it would have to be more than 13 kilometers from the event, which is the distance a train travels at 200 km/h in four minutes. Tweet from Óscar Puente showing the map of the command post with the situation of the trains In Xataka We have contacted SEMAF (Spanish Union of Railway Machinists) who explain that the LZB system sends information with the position of the train to the command post. There, the train appears on a map like the one shown in this image uploaded by Minister Óscar Puente. On this map you can see how the trains move forward, with their position updated every so often. On each line, they explain, there is a section manager who must remain attentive to the position of each train. For this reason, they say, there are several possibilities but they make it clear that the reasons can be multiple. They explain that there are two possibilities that resonate more strongly. One of them is that the Alvia sent its position past Iryo’s vehicle almost immediately after the crash and from the command post they believed that no train was coming in the opposite direction, which is what was mentioned to the driver of the Italian train. The second is that the Alvia “disappeared” from the map due to Particularities of the LZB system or because damage had occurred on the … Read more

What is the LZB and why is it in the spotlight of the Adamuz accident?

by

20 seconds. That is the time that, according to Álvaro Fernández Heredia, has passed since the derailment of the Iryo train in Adamuz and the arrival of the Alvia train in the opposite direction. “It still cannot be concluded that the Alvia collided with the Iryo cars or with any element of the road,” said the president, who, remembers, will take days to reach conclusions. It puts the focus, however, on the LZB security system. What has happened? What we know, at the time we write these lines, is that an Iryo train and an Alvia have had an accident at the same point on the Andalusian high-speed corridor. Until now, the first assessments have suggested that the Italian train derailed in the middle of the straight line and the Renfe train collided with it. However, this “cannot yet be concluded,” according to Álvaro Fernandez Heredia in statements to Chain Being. What is certain is that both trains have areas that are very difficult to access, with serious damage to their structure. The Alvia train also fell down a four-meter embankment. There are, at the time we write, 39 deaths (including the 27-year-old Renfe driver) and it is not ruled out that more bodies will be found once the rescue work is completed. 20 seconds. It is, according to Fernández Heredia, the time that has passed since the Iryo train derailed and the Renfe train arrived at the same place. However, Heredia has made it clear that understanding what happened at that moment is, for the moment, conjecture because the investigation that the Railway Accident Investigation Commission (CIAF), who They already did the same in Angrois, in the Galician accident of 2013. Explained visually in The CountryWhat we do know is that the Iryo derailed first when it was traveling at 210 km/h in a space limited to 250 km/h, so excessive speed seems to be ruled out. After 20 seconds, the accident worsened with the arrival of the Alvia, which did so at 205 km/h (also below the maximum speed allowed). Both trains were found at a distance of 700 meters between them, with the Alvia falling on the embankment located next to the tracks. Those 20 seconds, everything indicates, will be key to the investigation. And the president of Renfe pointed out on the radio that “the LZB system is equipped in such a way that when there is an obstacle on the track, the path is blocked and prevents circulation and orders emergency braking to the train. But apparently, the time interval between one train and another that crossed in opposite directions has been 20 seconds and, therefore, it is impossible for this mechanism to act.” What is the LZB? The LZB is the security system used in the Andalusian corridoron the Alvia Madrid-Toledo and on Cercanías lines C-5 in Madrid and the entire Euskotren network. The acronym refers to the German word Linienzugbeeinflussungsince the system is also used in Germany and Austria. The system consists of a cable that extends along the track, centered but drawing a slight zigzag. This wiring sends train running informationthe maximum speed of the road and the distance remaining before reaching a new speed limit change. If the driver does not reduce the speed, it is the train that activates the emergency braking. This wiring sends electrical signals in a closed circuit to recalculate the aforementioned variables through beacons. When the track is blocked, the transmission is interrupted and the system automatically orders the train to stop. However, according to the president of Renfe, the 20 seconds that have passed between the derailment of the Iryo train and the arrival of the Alvia have not been enough to stop the vehicle. It remains to be seen whether he braked previously and lost speed or not. Dated. The LZB system is considered an outdated safety system and Spain is one of the few countries in Europe that continues to use it on a high-speed railway section. In fact, by European order to facilitate interoperability, The LZB system in the Andalusian corridor is being replaced by ERTMS 2the European system that is already mandatory on all trains. ERTMS 2. This system It is a simplification of the processboth in equipment and operation. The data connection is made through GSM-R so the beacons only serve as a redundant system to locate the train. In exchange, radio equipment is used that communicates the train with the Movement Authority or MA (Movement Authority), explain in How trains work. This MA is responsible for telling the driver the maximum speed at which they can travel and for how many kilometers, but it includes a greater amount of information such as temporary speed restrictions, which makes it easier to comply with the limits. The system has the advantage that if a train suffers a problem but can no longer stop, it can pass through an enclave at an appropriate speed without the risk of derailing and only applies emergency braking when the situation is safe. On the contrary, it closes the passage of all trains instantly so that a collision does not occur. The system is considered more secure because it has more information, redundant systems and decisions are made more quickly. Speed ​​is key. Having a system capable of more closely monitoring the status of the trains and managing traffic is key when we travel on a high-speed train. We must keep in mind that when we travel at 205 km/h we are traveling 56.94 m/s. That is, in the 20 key seconds indicated in the Adamuz accident, 1,138 meters were covered. It must also be taken into account that the braking space increases exponentially with an increase in speed. At the same time, braking space is drastically reduced at lower speeds and the violence of an impact or a derailment is less. Photo | Wikimedia 1 and 2 In Xataka | More than 30 years ago, Spain decided to invest heavily in the AVE: today … Read more

The Adamuz accident comes after a year of incidents and controversies

by

The tragic Adamuz accident It is the worst that Spanish high speed has suffered in its entire history, but during the last year both the AVE and the rest of the LAV services have accumulated incidents, delays and problems that have damaged its image as a 100% reliable service. A year to forget. 2025 has chained incidents of all kinds on the high-speed network. Some of the events that have affected the operation of our trains: All of them have been events that, for different reasons, have challenged our perception of railway capacity in Spain. Delays and technical breakdowns. Punctuality plummeted up to levels of 70% in some months, well below the historical standards of the AVE. According to data According to El Mundo, four out of ten trains arrived late during the summer. On the other hand, technical problems forced the temporary withdrawal of part of the Avril and Avlo train fleet due to manufacturing defects, reducing available capacity just when it was needed most. The paradox of success. Despite everything, 37.3 million people traveled on AVE trains and long distance from Renfe during 2025, according to data from the Ministry of Transport. It is an absolute record: 6% more than the previous year. The AVE reached 21.5 million passengers, while Avlo grew from 4.55 million to 6.2 million users. The Madrid-Levante-Mediterranean corridor went from 5.5 to 7.7 million passengers, and the line to Galicia and Asturias skyrocketed from 2.5 to 4.6 million. These are figures that show that we prefer the trainand you like it when it works and offers competitive prices. Despite the figures, the incidents of recent months have given very negative publicity for high speed in Spain. Returns that do not arrive. The recurring incidents, added to the tightening of return conditions due to delays that Renfe applied in 2024, have fueled a story of discontent. Now it takes an hour of delay to recover 50% of the ticket, when before 15 minutes were enough. In September of last year we discovered that only three out of every hundred passengers were able to claim compensation over the summer, despite millions suffering delays. Discontent. We had never used the AVE so much and the incidents of the AVE had never had so much media attention. The competition from Ouigo and Iryo has helped boost the number of travelers thanks to lower prices, but the number of incidents has caused this gradual reduction in prices to take a backseat. And in the case of Renfe, lack of rolling stock It has not followed that growth rate either. Issues. Minister Óscar Puente recognized in September that the system will continue to have problems for at least two more years, in reference to the rolling stock that did not arrive and visited countries such as Germany or China looking for new trains. Meanwhile, the president of Renfe, Álvaro Fernández Heredia, assured at the end of the year that it would not apply the new compensation approved by Congress, which required money to be returned after 15 minutes of delay, considering them unconstitutional and asymmetrical compared to the competition. And now what. The Córdoba accident has been a devastating end to a bad streak of incidents in the Spanish railway system. All railway operators now face the challenge of demonstrating to Spain that the service remains reliable and safe despite the Adamuz accident. In Xataka | More than 30 years ago, Spain decided to invest heavily in the AVE: today it is winning contracts in Vietnam thanks to it

The question after the Adamuz accident is whether he is investing in maintaining them

by

On May 7, 2021, rail transport in Spain entered a new dimension. For the first time, a train that was not owned by Renfe stepped on our lines to operate between Madrid and Barcelona. It was the maiden voyage of Ouigoowned by the French SNCF in Spain. Objective: to offer a cheap alternative to the most famous high-speed service in our country. Shortly after, Renfe itself launched a new service to safeguard their backs. The first service AVLO (High Speed ​​Low Cost) arrived on Spanish roads a month later. In November 2022, Iryo It kicked off its operations with a Madrid-Valencia trip as its inaugural trip. In a year and a half, Spanish roads had gone from supporting the weight of Renfe to that of three companies (Renfe, Ouigo and Iryo) and four services (Renfe splits into AVE and AVLO). Over time, operations have increased and the competition that had been initially restricted to Madrid-Barcelona has also reached Levante and the Andalusian corridors. The plans go through continue expanding competition to the Galician corridor and the branches to Asturias and Cantabria, as well as the Madrid-Cádiz/Huelva. To have a clear picture of the increase in traffic volume in the Andalusian corridor, Óscar Puente, Minister of Transport, pointed out last summer that “in the 90s six trains circulated a day between Madrid and Seville (…) today 289 trains circulate”, referring to the drop in Renfe’s punctuality but the increase in complexity in traffic management. However, Renfe has been receiving numerous reviews for their lack of punctuality and their cancellations. But it is not the only company that has suffered significant inconveniences. In May, a cable theft and a coupling of an Iryo train with a catenary caused the collapse in the Andalusian corridor with more than 10,000 affected. Weeks later, a concatenation of incidents originated by an Ouigo train ended up causing a fire on a Renfe train and hundreds of lost passengers for more than 13 hours in the middle of the line spending the night outdoors. Facts that have been accumulating, that have been used as a political weapon (such as Renfe compensation in case of delays) but above all, they have put a recurring question on the table: what happens with investments? Investments in high speed To keep the roads and infrastructure in good condition, Adif (the company in charge of this) receives funds from the State and the European Unioncharge some fees to operators who use their channels to do business and issues bonds. However, the bulk of the money for road maintenance and future investments continues to come from the State. Whether these investments are sufficient or not is something that has been questioned for some time. Operators have long pointed out investments in the roads as insufficient. Ouigo did it when the July case left the Andalusian corridor paralyzed. Since July, Renfe, Adif and Talgo have been living a kind of triangle of love and hate in which they blame each other for the cracks caused in AVRIL trains that covered Madrid-Barcelona, leaving Renfe without this service in the corridor and with trains running at a lower speed as expected as a temporary patch at that time. In an article published in The World Last November it was pointed out that high speed in Spain has experienced three clear phases since the first Madrid-Seville was covered in 1992. The first points to the first years, with sustained investments between 1992 and 2005. The last refers to the liberalization of roads, active since 2021 in practice. Spain has gone from investing 6,558 million euros in the railway sector in 2009 to 2,318 million in 2018 but the figure hides the real maintenance In the middle, an explosion and a stagnation that marks our daily life. Between 2005 and the crisis of 2008 and the years to come, investment in Renfe and Adif skyrocketed. And it is in those years when high speed is extended to Córdoba and Málaga, to Valladolid after passing through Segovia and to the Levante area. High-speed investments in Extremadura or the Galician corridor and expansions to the north of Catalonia are also underway. But the years of crisis hit hard and investment falls. Once the budgets that have been approved in the years before the crash have been concluded, between 2014 and 2020 investments plummet. According to the Railway Observatory In its 2023 edition (last available), the real brutal investment fell from 6,558 million in 2009 to 2,312 million in 2018. Since then, it has grown and in 2023 it touched 4,000 million euros. But those numbers hide another perspective. If railway investments in Spain were reduced by a third in less than a decade, it is also a consequence of a stoppage in the construction of infrastructure. And, as we have seen, the years before the crisis saw a boom in the opening of high-speed stations and new corridors. Since then, expansions have been minimal. Source AIReF The Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF) shows how the opening of new lines has a direct impact when preparing budget plans. Thus, 88.6% of investments in high-speed railways between 1987 and 2018 were taken by the allocation dedicated to the construction of new lines. The rebound in investments that we have experienced since 2020 is closely linked to this way of acting. In recent years Full high speed has arrived in the Galician corridorwhich includes new gauge trains variable, the AVRILs, and great progress has been made in the Asturian and Cantabrian high speed. Óscar Puente visits the Hitachi Rail factory in Pistoia (Italy) Those numbers are skyrocketing again but they will do so in a different way. Although in 2024 The Government has allocated 4.5 billion euros to the trainof which 2,500 million euros were made in high speed and that the investment in Adif AV (high speed) should reach 12,000 million euros between 2022 and 2026, the announcement for the future is somewhat different. Because in its future investments the … Read more

More than a century ago they took the Mona Lisa in an accident

by

He Louvre Museumthe most visited in the world, was robbery victim in which thieves, in just seven minutes, made off with eight pieces of the imperial collection described as “priceless”. However, it is not the first time it has happened. The Louvre has been a victim of audacious robberies and controversial since the beginning of the last century, which puts on the table, above all, a question that goes beyond some missing jewels: is the security of one of the most important museums deficient? What happened. A group of between three and four hooded individuals, presumably dressed as workers, took advantage of the rehabilitation works on the façade of the museum that overlooks the Seine River. Using a forklift they directly accessed a first floor window. Once in the Apollo Gallery, where the Crown Jewels are displayed, they used heavy tools, such as a chainsaw or a radial saw, to destroy two high-security display cases. Among the eight pieces that were stolen were tiaras, necklaces and brooches of Empress Eugenia de Montijo and Queen María Amelia, as well as other historical pieces of the French Crown. The assailants fled quickly on large motorcycles. One of the pieces, the empress’s crown, was found damaged near the museum, lost in the frantic flight. The robbery, with visitors in the room, generated panic, since the thieves used the same radios to threaten the security guards. Among other measures that failed are those of the alarms that “were not heard by the agents or did not sound in the Gallery“. Previous robberies: La Gioconda (1911). As we say, this is not the first time something like this has happened at the Louvre. The most notorious robbery occurred on August 21, 1911, with ‘The Mona Lisa‘ by Leonardo Da Vinci. This incident did not involve spectacular devicesMission: Impossible‘, but the simple negligence of the security system of the time. The author was Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian worker who had been an employee of the Louvre and had participated in the construction of the painting’s glass display case. Peruggia hid in a closet on Sunday night (partial closure of the museum), came out on Monday morning, took down the portrait from the Salon Carré, and left with the work under his work coat. He said his motivation was patriotic, seeking to return Leonardo da Vinci’s work to Italy, as he mistakenly believed it had been stolen by Napoleon. Security at the Louvre was weak in 1911: the museum, with more than a thousand rooms, was protected by fewer than 150 guards for more than 250,000 objects, which meant that statues and paintings were often damaged without being immediately detected. It was 26 hours before anyone noticed the painting was missing. The news caused a media frenzy, and even the poet Guillaume Apollinaire and Pablo Picasso were briefly arrested as suspects. The painting was recovered two years later, in 1913, when Peruggia tried to sell it to an antique dealer in Florence. Heists previous: Burgundy breastplate and helmet (1983). On May 1, 1983 this took place another robbery: The pieces were a valuable cuirass and a burgundy-type helmet from the 16th century, both with gold and silver inlays. The pieces had been donated to the museum in 1922 by Baroness Salomon Rothschild, and the display case containing the pieces appeared vandalized: the fact that historical military pieces could be stolen from a display case in what was presumed to be a guarded environment revealed that the vulnerabilities went beyond the paintings. The pieces did not reappear for almost forty years, and all thanks to an investigation initiated by an expert in military antiquities in the 2020s, who detected them in a private collection in Bordeaux. Heists previous: Streak of quick robberies in 1995. That year a series of thefts and acts of vandalism revealed the vulnerability of the Louvre. In January, a visitor used a box cutter to cut and damage a painting by Lancelot Théodore Turpin de Crissé, ‘Deer in a Landscape’. Just a week later, a 17-kilogram battle ax belonging to a monument sculpted by Martin Desjardins was stolen. In July, a valuable painting made with Robert de Nanteuil’s pastel technique finally disappeared. This series of incidents made it clear that, although security had been reinforced around the most iconic works, the pieces displayed in large and less traveled areas became easy targets. A vulnerable building. The recent robbery has revealed a series of tactics that reveal different vulnerabilities: taking advantage of areas on site (that is, a blind spot or one with less surveillance), entering the building using a forklift, carrying it out in broad daylight and with visitors inside, and the use of heavy tools without an immediate and effective security response. Although the 1911 robbery already demonstrated that personnel are key to preventing these robberies, in June 2025 there were workers protests over the lack of troops to control the large numbers of visitors. This theft has made it evident that there is a clear vulnerability in the museum, and this has been noted by those responsible for security: the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, has declared that “The issue of the vulnerability of our museums is not new. It has been 40 years since we took care of their security.” The minister has also said that two years ago the then president of the Louvre had asked the Prefect of Police to review and carry out an audit on security. Dati has also commented that “museums must be adapted to the new forms of crime, which are organized, they are professionals who enter calmly, in four minutes take the loot and leave without any violence.” Photo of Thomas Eidsvold in Unsplash In Xataka | We have visited the first Video Game Museum in Madrid: between the tourist attraction and the archaeological spectacle

dangerous curves and a fatal accident

by

Curves surrounded by concrete walls. Some accompanied by exits to different parts of the city and others with important slopes. The Madrid entrance by the A-5 has not only become a nightmare of traffic jams and an ordeal for neighbors. Now, driving for her has become dangerous. What had they told us. When the Madrid City Council presented the project to underground entrance to Madrid On the A-5 road he mentioned that the works would be compatible with the traffic circulation. The idea is that one of the two sides (the entrance) becomes underground to, in a second phase, the vehicles will circulate underground and begin the underground of the other sense of the circulation. Then it was sold (and so it happened at first) that all the traffic would move first to one side of the road and then pass the other. That is, we would have entrance and exit lanes but there should not be many more inconvenience than those of finding a greater volume of withholdings. Section with curves and flush changes where the death of a motorist has been recorded Curves come. What they did not explain at the Madrid City Council is how it was going to happen at the entrance to the capital from the left side (the usual direction of departure) to the neighborhoods of Aluche or Lucero (which fall to the right of the road). Nor, on the contrary, these neighborhoods would be passed in the direction of the road. The solution has been to divert the road into specific points. For this, a succession of curves has been created that usually involves two S. From the left side in the capital, there is first a right-left succession and, subsequently, left-right. In the middle an exit to the surrounding neighborhood is generated. As you can see in the image that heads this article. Dangerous. The curves are closed, they use narrower lanes than usual To gain space in both sensesthey are delimited by concrete walls and in some cases there are grounding changes to go over the underground work. There are with a crosswalk included. And we even have a very dangerous exit of the gas station that you see in the image, right next to the output of the Boadilla road. If you have recently circulated through those sections, it is very likely that you have felt true (and logical) danger. I will tell you more, you are not alone. Collect in Telemadrid That the complaints have multiplied and the Madrid City Council is valuing to suppress these curves to facilitate the journeys and improve security. At 20 km/h. The solution that has occurred so far is to limit the circulation in some sections to 20 or 30 km/h. It is a measure that goes beyond caution, circulating above that speed is to play it against the wall and have a good scare. At the beginning of September, A motorist died after it was overwhelmed by a tourism. The camp area, where the accident happened, is especially dangerous because there is a double curve in S, there is an elevation of the land and, in addition, the exit to the Boadilla road in the offense is next to the exit of the gas station that accompanies this article and the poster is barely displayed. Better signaling. It is another complaints of the drivers of which they echo Telemadrid. The signaling of the outputs is clearly small and insufficient. In each output, the signal is arranged in the vertex of the same but there are no previous notices. In addition, the size is small, the usual for this type of outputs but without, as we say, the previous signage. That generates greater risks and unforeseen since the layout can change slightly every night as the works advance. And it is especially complicated for those who circulate once or twice a week along this road and, therefore, are more sensitive to changes. More and more inconvenience. The underground of the A-5 is also affecting the day-to-day life of the neighbors. Yesterday, September 22, a problem during the work of the operators has left a large part of the adjacent homes and businesses. In addition, the increase in requests in the coverage of the mobile network caused the collapse for some companies or the impossibility of using services such as Bicimad, as we could verify. It is just one more chapter in works that are causing serious inconvenience to the residents of the area by The noise and transfer of trucks or excavators. But also with Internet, Light and Water that since the works begin, they are leaving the residents without basic supplies without prior notice. Photos | Xataka In Xataka | The icing on the cake to the works of Madrid: the city has become a gymkana of reforms, cuts and discomfort

An accident that hits its ambitions

by

The flying car advances between factory promises and delivery deadlines, but each trial remembers that security remains in the foreground. In the preparations of the Changchun Air Hallin the northeast of China, two evtol of Xpeng Aero made contact in the air and one ended up on fire when touching earth. Images and videos circulate on the Weibo social network They show the smoke rising on the track. What happened. As Sina collectsthe accident occurred on September 16 at the end of an essay. The devices that practiced a training maneuver collided by not maintaining the right distance. One unit descended safely, while the other was damaged and burned in landing. The company reported that all staff came out unharmed and that emergency teams acted there. Official research has not yet yielded conclusions. Click to see the original publication in Weibo The vehicle and the concept. Xpeng Aeroht has become one of the referents of the so -called low altitude economy. Your most advanced product is the “Land Carrier”a decoupled design car in which the land vehicle and the air module are integrated and separate by an automatic system. The six -wheel car works as a support base, while the aircraft takes off and lands vertically with a six folding arms design. Separations and avoidance. Air operations rely on the premise of maintaining clear distances between aircraft. The vertical, horizontal and temporal intervals are adjusted based on altitude and speed, with generous margins between one flight and another. In the case of Xpeng Aeroht, the company has emphasized sensors and avoidance algorithms, although it is not yet known what role these systems had in this incident. The company itself, According to Sina and Bloomberghe stressed that the definitive cause of the accident cannot be established. It is not clear if the lack of separation was due to a problem of height, to an insufficient longitudinal interval or an operation error. Nor is the influence of weather conditions rule out. 36kr points that witnesses mentioned strong wind in the area. Rapid growth In a short time, Xpeng Aeroht has managed to accumulate a volume of orders around 5,000 units. The industrial project includes A construction factory with capacity for 10,000 flying cars a year, whose development began in October 2024 and that is raised as a large -scale assembly line. The company, integrated into the Xpeng Motors ecosystem, that has just landed in Austriaclaims to have a workforce of more than 1,400 people and a proportion of specialists in engineering and development greater than 80%. Goals and challenges. The accident arrives at a delicate time for Xpeng Aeroht, immersed in an expansion phase and with an eye on mass production from 2026. The incident adds uncertainty about the ability to fulfill that calendar and reinforces the debate on the safety of Evtol. Although the market has shown interest with thousands of reserves, public perception has become more demanding: before thinking about commercial flights, manufacturers must convince that technology is reliable. Images | Weibo | Xpeng Aeroht In Xataka | Madrid had one of the underground labyrinths without more complex GPS. Google and Waze have tamed it with 1,600 Bluetooth beacons

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.