AVE

The Madrid-Barcelona AVE will reach a peak speed of 350 km/h. And it will do so thanks to new sleepers of Spanish design

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While in China they are already thinking about trains that reach 4,000 km/hIn Spain we are looking for an AVE that reaches 350 km/h that could be reached without problems if it were not for one detail: the tracks. And for something much more specific: the sleepers. The solution is a new design called “aerotraviesa” that will increase the speed of the BIRD. The problem is that theory is one thing, and practice another. a physical problem. Spain plays in the high speed major league and, in it, Renfe opera four types of trains. The Alvia and Avant reach 250 km/h. The Avlo and the AVE reach 300 km/h. However, the machines are prepared to reach higher speeds, the aforementioned 350 km/h. The problem is in physics. When a train exceeds a certain speed, 300 km/h, a phenomenon called ‘ballast flight’ occurs. This implies that the underside of the train generates turbulence that creates areas of low pressure on the track. This causes the passage of the train to vibrate the stones, the ballast, lifting them and causing them to collide against the underside of the train or settle on the tracks and sleepers themselves. Furthermore, at more than 300 km/h, the possible bumps on the journey increase. Air traverses. That’s where a new sleeper design comes into play that the company itself Adif presented a few years ago. Instead of a flat crossbar, a traditional rectangle, the central part of it has a more rounded design. Adif affirms This modifies the velocity field on the ballast in the area between the sleepers, minimizing the presence of ballast particles, and the key points are: Reduces 21% of the aerodynamic load in the space immediately above the ballast bed. The design allows increasing the distance between the ballast level and the upper face of the sleeper. It has no higher manufacturing or handling costs (they are still molds). And most importantly: the aerodynamic load generated by a train at 330 km/h on a track with current sleepers is equivalent to that generated by the same train at 370 km/h, but with aero sleepers. AV350 Plan. In short, the aerocrossers improve the aerodynamic performance of the infrastructure and there is another important fact: their use allows an increase of 12% in the operating speed of the train. And it is not just theory, since Spain wants to start installing overhead traverses to improve the speed of the AVE. A few weeks ago, Óscar Puente, Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, advertisement that the Madrid-Barcelona line will be the first to have these overhead traverses. The result? Reach the maximum speed of the original design of the infrastructure, which is 350 km/h. Currently, the AVE reaches those 300 km/h due to the physical limitations mentioned above. This will allow us to go from the two hours and 37 minutes of the AVE that currently takes the least time to less than two hours. Puente highlighted that the design of the aerocrosses is pioneer in the world. The Polytechnic University of Madrid, Adif and SENER constituted a consortium to develop this technology and obtained the patent in March 2014, achieving international protection in Europe, Saudi Arabia and the United States. There are countries that have faced the ballast problem in other ways, Germany covering the ballast with concrete, for example. Arching an eyebrow. Increasing the speed of the train by changing the sleepers sounds great. The problem is that there are some aspects to consider. On the one hand, the cost-benefit debate not only because of what the investment will mean in changing all the sleepers, but also because of the maintenance of certain train materials that will suffer more than now. Driving at 350 km/h exponentially increases the wear of both the wheels and the catenary, regardless of whether the ballast causes no damage to the train, or causes less. On the other hand, not only the sleepers come into play, but also the own land. A bump at 300 km/h can be annoying, at 350 km/h it can be something more. Or two. And, beyond whether it is worth the investment to gain half an hour or what will happen with those possible technical problems, the big question is what happens with the rest of Spain. It is estimated that the Madrid-Barcelona section in which these air crossings begin to be applied will take about two years to complete. At a rate of 800 sleepers changed per day and 1,666 sleepers per kilometer, the work is of great magnitude. And it is clear that it is a congested route and that it is seeing a boom in the number of travelers, but while that line is reinforced, the connection with other parts of the peninsula remains neglectedlike the train to Soria, Teruel or the perennial case of Extremadura. Images | Xataka, Adif In Xataka | AVLO’s departure from Madrid-Barcelona seemed like another problem for Renfe. He has left us an unexpected winner

Renfe needs new AVE and is already pressing for China to be its supplier

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That relations between China and the European Union are complex does not surprise anyone. That Spain is becoming one of the countries that is pushing the most to get closer to the Chinese State is another obvious fact. And our country has long been playing a complex game of balance in which it tries to keep all trade doors open with the Asian country while remaining within the rules set by the European Union. The evidence is there for anyone to see. The Ministry of Defense itself publish an article on your website in which he promotes the Spanish position as mediator between the European Union and China. The Government of Pedro Sánchez already tried to maintain balance during the April crossover game in the trade war between the United States and the Asian country. Months before, investments on Spanish soil were unlocked, like the CATL factory mounted together with Stellantis in Aragon, while was punished to the countries that were in favor of lifting tariffs against Chinese electric cars. Now it is the trains that are in the spotlight. Spain is looking for new high-speed vehicles. Renfe wants renew your fleet and it is confirmed that in the coming months it will launch a tender to which those companies that want to win the contract will have to attend. And meanwhile, Óscar Puente, Minister of Transportation, is surveying the different companies to get an idea of ​​the deadlines they manage. A round of interviews in which a manufacturer stands out. It’s Chinese, it has the fastest trains and they deliver them before anyone else. Puente has already made it clear. The question is what Europe thinks of all this. The best but with doubts “Chinese manufacturers deliver trains at half the price in a period of six months to two years, while the European industry offers them to you in 60 months. I am a politician, the one who buys, and I’m not 60 months old. I have discussed this problem with the European industry and with the EU Commissioner, and I believe that in the railway sector things should change and move towards the Airbus model, with which the aeronautical industry was saved.” With these words, Óscar Puente made it clear who he would entrust the purchase of Chinese trains to if it were only in his power. The person he is talking about is China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC). Their trains are the ones that are currently operating in the Asian country at 450 km/h (the infrastructure would have to be adapted so that in Spain they comfortably exceed 300 km/h) and according to Puente they can deliver them in much less time than those offered by European companies or Hitachi (Japanese). The words were spoken by Puente in an interview in the Chain Beingwith words collected by The Countrywhere it is noted that the Minister of Transport also has visited the German facilities from Siemens, another of the companies that could opt for the next big contract being prepared in our country. Siemens’ flagship train, the Velaro Novo, can also reach speeds of around 400 km/h top speed but the company has yet to demonstrate its ability to mass produce them. In Trenvista They analyzed the three vehicles that may be on the table, including an option with second-hand trains. Among the other competitors Featured is Hitachi. The Japanese company produces its trains in Italy. We are talking about the ETR-1000 or Freccisarossa, the same train that Iryo uses in Spain and which is underused in terms of top speed because the Spanish infrastructure does not allow it to reach the more than 350km/h for those that are approved. Alstom and CAF are also among the companies surveyed for transport. Companies that would be ahead of Talgo with whom the Government maintains an open conflict due to the delay in the delivery of trains and the breakdowns occurred on the Madrid-Barcelona line with cracks that They have taken AVLOs out of circulation on that line. All of them will be companies that will fight for a contract that is expected to reach around 27 million euros per unit purchased, according to 20 Minutes. In order to pay that money, Spain would go to European Investment Bank (EIB) to finance yourself at the best price. That would be one of the biggest complications for the Chinese manufacturer. CRRC is in the crosshairs of the European Commission which accuses the company of receiving huge state subsidies that allow them to put their trains on the market at a much more competitive price than that of European manufacturers. It is, therefore, a very similar case to what happens with the automobile market. The first conflict arose as a result of the intention of the Government of Bulgaria to acquire Chinese trains through a contract of more than 600 million euros. It included the delivery of 20 vehicles and their maintenance for 15 years. With the opening of the investigation, the manufacturer withdrew from the competition and finally the European Commission shelved the matter. Now it is Spain that is pressing to either acquire trains from this manufacturer or put the “Airbus model” on the table for the railway sector, with the aim of improving the competitiveness of the European Union in this market. Photo | Alejandro Luengo and Xataka In Xataka | The countries with the most kilometers of high-speed train, displayed in a graph with a brutal dominator: China

We have tried to write this article from an AVE. It has been an ordeal

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In case anyone is confused, today are the Xataka NordVPN Awards 2025. That means that the editorial team travels from our respective cities to Madrid, mostly by train. We are very hard-working people and we always take advantage of the trip to write an article, or at least we try when Renfe’s WiFi allows us to. We are Amparo Babiloni and Jose García, join us in this sad story. These lines are written by me, Amparo Babiloni, on the Valencia-Madrid AVE on Thursday, November 20 and connected to the Play Renfe network. I like the risk. The simple fact of connecting and being able to start working (halfway) has been an ordeal. How to improve WiFi at home To give you an idea: I got on the train at 8:30 and I wasn’t able to start writing this until almost an hour later. Just logging into the administrator took me about ten minutes and opening the draft at least five more. Slack does not work directly, neither in the app nor in the browser. Jose here. I left Córdoba at 8:33 and I intended to take advantage of the trip to do some work. The departure from Córdoba has been terrible, since it passes through areas with many tunnels, then mountains and then we enter a network wasteland such as Castilla-La Mancha. I don’t know what happens in Castilla-La Mancha, but that stretch is terrible. Not only does the WiFi network not work, but the coverage is terrible. Good. Connecting to the VPN is an impossible mission. In addition to having to confirm that I trust the network certificates, it is impossible to take advantage of the WiFi network and have the VPN activated. In fact, I write this with the VPN disabled, something that gives me some respect on a public network. Ah yes, happy to accept this. During the first hour of the trip I completely depended on the mobile network to write an article and respond to some important emails. Thank goodness I uploaded the images yesterday from home, because having had to upload 30 JPEGs of six megas I might as well have started crying. Slack was only half loading (I couldn’t see my colleagues’ profile photos) and this article is being coordinated by Amparo and I in the best way possible. Amparo is offline, I hope she’s okay. It’s 10:13. They just told me over the public address system that there is an incident at the entrance to Madrid, so I find myself half an hour from Madrid completely stopped 🤷‍♂️ Dizzying speeds Amparo returns. The first leg of the trip I suffered quite a few outages, but now it seems that the network has more or less stabilized and I have been able to write all this in one go. But let’s see what a speed test tells us. The image weighs 13.9KB. It took more than a minute to upload This is the download and upload speed while passing through Castilla-La Mancha. One thing that both Jose and I have noticed is that the network is better as we get closer to Madrid, probably because there are more antennas. This contrasts with what we live in 2016 when we tried Renfe WiFi for the first time. At that time we found “a very good connection speed, with peaks of 53 Mb/s for both upload and download, and with minimums of 9 Mb/s for download and 13 Mb/s for upload in an area with little coverage.” (My connection has been cut here) It’s back, but it took me a while to be able to continue writing because every time I open any new tab it takes an average of 2-3 minutes to load, that is if it doesn’t freeze. The speed entering Chamartín. I have repeated the test by entering the station and the download speed still does not even reach 2MB. In fact, it’s even worse than when I was further away from the city. I have to leave you now, we just arrived. At least this time it wasn’t due to a network outage. Hello, I’m Jose. It’s 10:29, I’m still standing half an hour from Madrid. The train driver is being very considerate in informing us of the situation. The issue seems resolved, but now the entrance is congested. ADIF has not yet given an estimate of the duration of the stoppage, so until further notice, we are still here. Right now, half an hour from Madrid, the network is stable, although the speed barely exceeds 1 Mbps. I have tried to liven up the wait by watching a video about the new Bambu Lab 3D printer, but it was not a good idea. All videos load by default in 240p. If I increase the resolution, the video stops and stays in an infinite loading loop. I could resort to a PlayRenfe movie, but since November 1 They are no longer available. The thing is that I have a 5G network on my mobile (at a speed of 15 Mbps, let’s not go crazy either), so it definitely seems like a problem with the train’s own WiFi network. The cell phone tells us that it is not a WiFi 6 network (which would help with congestion), but the underlying problem could be a host of things. A possible cause A possible origin of the problem is that the desire to eat and hunger come together. First of all, you have a low-speed network that is not prepared for support the huge number of devices that there is a train consuming bandwidth. We are writing this text, but there may be people watching TikTok, YouTube or doing more demanding things. (It’s 10:32, the train is moving again) Secondly, trains cannot escape the laws of physics. The Córdoba-Madrid AVE is currently moving at 248 km/h and the Doppler effect does his thing. As we see each other, the signal intensity constantly changes and the systems must compensate for these variations. The faster … Read more

while the Madrid-Barcelona AVE goes at 350 km/h, the rest of the network languishes

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The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, has announced the tender for two feasibility studies with one objective: to carry out actions to improve the high-speed line (LAV) between Madrid and Barcelona to increase the speed of this corridor to 350 km/h. This will allow the journey between both cities to be made in less than two hours, but the problem is with the state of the railway network in the rest of the country. All focus in one line. Puente has explained that the reasons for focusing on this route are that “we need more capacity due to the increase in passengers on this line which, when it started, moved 2.2 million users and today there are 15 million, which means that 85% of the passenger share uses the train in this connection between cities and can still grow.” Vibrations. The modernization of the line that has already been carried out on the Madrid-Seville route is now urgently needed for the one that connects Madrid with Barcelona: it is already close to having been in service for 20 years and reports have appeared that point to an increase in vibrations between Madrid and Calatayud. Air traverses. For the renewal of the line, use will be made of a “unique Spanish technology in the world”, the aerotraviesa, which according to ADIF reduces the aerodynamic load in the space immediately above the ballast bed by 21%. This allows the operating speed of the train to increase by 12%: the aerodynamic load caused at 330 km/h by the current crossing would be equivalent to that generated by the aerocross at 370 km/h. New stations. The plan also includes new access variants to both cities and the construction of two new high-speed stations in Parla (connected to the Madrid Cercanías network) and in El Prat de Llobregat. A new access to the Chamartín station from the east and south is also proposed as an alternative to the existing tunnel. that connects this station with that of Atocha. In this way, the minister indicated, the capital will be provided with an alternative route to the existing tunnel for trains coming from throughout the Mediterranean and Andalusia. Impact on other lines. The Parla station will also have another purpose: to allow a connection with Madrid for all those services of the Madrid-Seville LAV and the Madrid-Levante LAV, with destination Madrid, in case of eventual incidents at the stations or in the standard gauge tunnel. Giving room for maneuver for the future. This action, the Ministry states, will improve the current capacity of the Torrejón de Velasco junction—through which more than 250 trains circulate daily—and absorb the increases in traffic expected with the entry into service of the Madrid-Extremadura-Portuguese Border High Speed ​​Line. the planned growth on the line between Madrid and Seville. The studies also include the construction of a new railway access that allows services to be provided from Lérida with origin and destination in Barcelona and without the need to circulate through Camp de Tarragona. sticking out chest. Minister Óscar Puente stated in the announcement that with this improvement Spain will become “the only country, together with Chinawhich has an infrastructure of these characteristics.” Not only that, it has compared the costs with that is supporting uk: “They have 40,000 million and do not have a single kilometer of track installed. There is talk of a project that will cost 100,000 million pounds for 250 kilometers. We will have invested, from the beginning (of high speed) until the end of this year, in 4,091 kilometers, around 70,000 million euros. We have the lowest cost per kilometer in the world.” Where can you travel in five hours by train from cities like Gijón, La Coruña or Badajoz? To Madrid, almost certainly… and little else. Source: Chronotrains. The problem is the rest of Spain. The improvement plan makes sense from the point of view of the growing demand on that route, but it once again penalizes the rest of the railway network, which does not have high-speed lines… or even lines. We already talked about how from Chronotrains It is possible to see how from Gijón, La Coruña or Badajoz (in the image) in five hours the train coverage is very poor, and the problem is repeated everywhere. The connection with Madrid is normally well covered: the problem is the connection between cities other than Madrid and Barcelona. Supply and demand. Here there must be a balance between supply and demand, and criticism is logical among those who see how other routes, even having a certain demand, they are neglected again and again. Platforms like “Soria NOW!” they manifested recently claiming that “the only train that passes through Soria is the one of excuses”, and the same thing happens with others like Teruel Exists or the concentrations that for years They demand a “decent train” in Extremadura, although in the latter region there is somewhat more hopeful newsand the AVE to Galicia is also proving to be a real success. Image | Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility In Xataka | The great Valencian “obrón” bears the name of Adif. Their last names: gas leak and fed up neighbors

Renfe already warns that AVE prices have hit the bottom

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The prices we have seen so far in high speed have been a mirage. At least that is what Álvaro Fernández Heredia, president of Renfe, predicts, who in an interview with Chain Being has come to ensure that Ouigo and Iryo will end up leaving our country. Prices, costs and unprofitable high speed. More expensive. There are many headlines left by the interview that Álvaro Fernández Heredia, president of Renfe, left in an interview with Chain Being. To begin with, because he has indicated that high speed prices will rise: “If our competitors raise prices, which is something they have begun to do, we will follow that trend, because we are competing with them in those corridors, and this is the scheme that we have given ourselves as a society” What Fernández Heredia is talking about is the rising prices that high-speed trains are experiencing. The matter has made headlines with the departure of the AVLO of the Madrid-Barcelona corridor that has caused an immediate increase in the price of trains. With a weaker Renfe when it comes to lowering prices, on average the price of the ticket is already above 80 euros and the cheapest one does not go below 50 euros. The service has been getting more expensive for some time but without AVLO, prices are even higher. public service. In his statements, the president of Renfe comes to say that they will do what their rivals do. If they lower prices they will fight with them but if they raise prices they will not resist to seek market share at a low price. What Renfe defends is that they have the obligation to provide service where it is not profitable. This shows them the way to raise prices in the corridors where they do have competition. “We have a pricing policy that does not seek profit or does not seek to have a distribution of dividends. Our distribution of dividends is to stop where the others do not stop or what is not High Speed, which is the Long Distance: Almería, Algeciras or Tolosa. We are a public company and we are here to compete with other companies, but we are also there to support the rest of the railway system. Our High Speed, of the only three operators there are, is the only one that is economically sustainable, but we also have to sustain those stops that other operators do not want to make and that could, but do not do them because they only seek profitability” That message is the same one that Óscar Puente sentMinister of Transport, a year ago when he complained that Renfe had to compete in the same market as Ouigo and Iryo but with the burden of having to go where the company loses money. Some losses that have also focused the debate in recent months. Private, but not much. This is what the president of Renfe maintains. For Fernández Heredia, Ouigo and Iryo “are public companies from other countries. I understand that they will have to give an explanation as to why they come to Spain to lose money, I don’t think they will come to that, because it would be very difficult to understand.” In this message sent to Chain Being the complaint is implicit (and the threat of denunciation) that The Government launched Ouigo at the time. It was then pointed out that this French company I was pushing the prices to gain market share knowing that it has its back covered by the French State. From Ouigo they have rejected this, ensuring that Your pricing strategy is the usual one among those who enter to play in a new market. Losing money. At the moment what we have is a war in which Renfe, Ouigo and Iryo are losing money. Without knowing whether prices will continue to rise, what is certain is that the three companies are spending tens of millions of euros. Specifically, almost 100 million euros in 2024. Of those hundred million euros lost, the majority belong to Ouigo, which according to the CNMC left 40.5 million. The figure is far from the 31.5 million euros that Iryo left, but Renfe also lost money, specifically 27 million. Of course, the CNMC also assures that, since competition was opened in high speed, consumers have saved about 500 million euros. Until when? Although prices rise little by little, what is certain is that competition has lowered the cost for the customerespecially in those corridors where the flow of movement is not as constant or dense as in Madrid-Barcelona. In the latter, in addition to the high demand, the departure of AVLO has confirmed that if the high speed competition low cost one of the three competitors leaves, the immediate result is that prices rise. So, yes, we have most likely hit a bottom in high-speed prices but they are more likely to rise more slowly the more competition there is. Photo | Alan Grant In Xataka | In the 19th century, Spain made the strange decision to build its roads in Iberian gauge. Now they are going to be a gift for Renfe in Galicia

The competition in the AVE has killed its bus line

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Something is moving on the Spanish bus map. That something is the government’s intentions to reform the concessions that make up current photography. On the way there has been talk of reforming the entire system but also how many concessions already where they should be delivered. And that directly attacks very specific lines. In coma. Among all the concessions that Spain has awarded for bus service, The Madrid-Valencia line is one of those that agonizes. In fact, nobody wants to get that concession because with the high -speed line next to him does not come out profitable. After the concession, Alsa (the company that was exploiting this line) resigned to continue with it given its null profitability. Then a contest was convened to exploit a line that crosses all the Spanish width, from Badajoz to Valencia, passing through Madrid. That contest was completely deserted. Concessions? Yes, concessions. Bus lines In Spain they compete for concessions that are then exploited exclusively. These concessions last for years and, obviously, the company has to face the possible changes in the flows of movements that can occur between its passengers. In the system, therefore, it is competed before putting the buses on the road. A line is taken to competition and awarded the best bidder. In high railway speed, companies that demonstrate that they can technically operate on the road come to compete directly. On buses, that does not happen because the chosen company has exclusivity for a certain time. A deep change. What the government raises is that Spain needs a deep change in the concession system. In recent years, the market has been completely opened and that it is the companies that rival on the road at a price. However, the final intention is to take out a great contest maintaining the current concession system. Of course, given the large number of lines whose competitions are empty or companies that do not want to maintain their concessions, from the government advocate drastically reducing the number of runners. The intention is to pass Of the current 77 concessions to a total of 22. From the government they point out that this decision goes through the difficulty of placing these concessions but also because the way of moving of the Spaniards has changed in recent years. The cities have atomized (even more) the exits and arrivals but, in addition, the high -speed train and the competition have completely transformed the panorama. It is not competitive. What happens? When high speed has affordable prices, the bus is not competitive. In the Galician corridor The train has managed to eliminate travelerseven to the plane that is faster. In the case of the bus, the situation is even more complicated because, in addition, it is slower and uncomfortable. That leaves lines like that Badajoz-Madrid-Valencia without interested companies. With such a low volume of customers and a faster and more cheap alternative, prices have to be much more expensive to compensate. It is obviously the worst option. Whenever you travel to Badajoz, Madrid, Valencia or any of the stops where the train stops. What about us? All this directly impacts the paths of those who do not live in those cities or larger populations where there is a high -speed rail stop. The bus is in charge of generating a capillary network of paths among small populations where the only alternative is private transport. This is what they defend from Travel more by busan association that defends a competitive alternative so that this means of transport can survive. They bet on a complete liberalization in these lines that have to fight with high -speed lines. They point out that with the rates raised, The bus trip between Madrid and Valencia would entail an expense of between 40 and 50 euros for the client and a duration of more than four hours. With Renfe, Iryo and Ouigo fighting on the train, it is possible to make that same trip in the middle of time in half of the money. According to the CNMCthe average price of traveling with these companies in a Madrid-Valencia is 27.46 euros. What solution is there? According to this platform in defense of these less profitable bus lines, open them to direct competition. They point out that with the current layout, it is contemplated that the rates for operating will be recalculated with inflation and that, therefore, in 2035 the average price of the ticket will return to around 50 euros despite the fact that at the time of the new award a price of about 40 euros is established. In the other side of the currency we find associations like Confebus They point out that these concessions allow companies to better study the market and their profitability but, they defend, the traveler is protected because once the service has been awarded, the company has not to leave the line overnight. Photo | Artem Makarov and Xataka In Xataka | This Barcelona bus has been working with a fuel that we all produce: our excrements

The AVE to Andalusia once again suffers a cable robbery and anticipates another day of chaos and delays. It’s just the tip of the iceberg

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Entering the page where Adif collects information from high speed arrivals and outings serves to immerse yourself in the Infinite yellow of incidents. At the time of writing these lines, almost 11:00 am on Tuesday, September 16, each and every one of the trains with arrival in Madrid today have a possible delay warning. Someone has stolen a cable in the ADIF facilities near Córdoba. It is only the tip of the iceberg of an infrastructure that is suffering numerous delays in recent months. 40 minutes. They are not such, as we have learned in Xataka From the hand of one of its journalists who traveled in one of the birds that Córdoba connected with Madrid. Despite Adif’s notices that were discussed of an expected delay of between 10 and 40 minutes in the Andalusian line to Córdoba, the truth is that in this case it has lasted more than an hour. The reason has been a Cable theft between Córdoba and Guadajoz. The incidence was confirmed at the edge of 8:00 am and three hours later It was supposed to be. The problem is evidently the trains that has caused this breakdown that forces us to delay the usual paths for several hours. The last case. Today, Tuesday, September 16, it is just another case of cable robberies that Adif is suffering in recent months, with special incidence in the Andalusian corridor. Last May More than 16,000 passengers were thrown away for the theft of cable at various points of the line. This time, the bulk of the subtractions took place in the passage of the line through Toledo. Just a few days later, also the same month of Maythe section that connects Palencia with Catabria was also affected by a robbery of cables. Last June, Another robbery also caused delays in Catalonia. On that occasion, as in Madrid last Julythose affected were nearby users. A problem. Already in May, the president of Renfe, Álvaro Fernández de Heredia, left a phrase nothing optimistic in a Interview with Antena 3: “They cannot be monitored 24 hours 15,000 kilometers of network, but more means will have to be put.” Then, in Xataka We already wondered if it was so easy to steal in the train network. In 2015cable theft provided a group of thieves a booty that was valued at more than 800.00 euros. In 2022, another robbery also left some 135,000 euros in the pockets of another group of thieves. But in the case of the theft of Andalusian cable last May, the action was distributed by up to five points. And, despite this, According to the Government Delegationcopper had barely won worth 300 euros. So? Óscar Puente, Minister of Transport, said that robbery as “A serious sabotage act”. A few months later, the idea of ​​sabotage slipped again from the government. This time was the Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, to which An open microphone “caught” saying that the delays in the bird could be due to these supposed sabotages. On that occasion it coincided with Another of the chaotic days That Renfe and the rest of the operators have lived in the Spanish high -speed lines and, specifically, in La Andaluza. That time, a breakdown on an Ouigo train caused the chain stop of the rest of the trains. One of them, from Renfe, overheated and burned his electrical systems. As a result, More than 200 passengers spent the night Within one of those trains. In the same sense, those who pointed out that they pointed out that The real culprit of his fault was of Adifwhose facilities caused the problem. On the other hand, from the Popular Party they already pointed out months before (coinciding with the theft of May) that the maintenance of the network was inefficient or insufficient, ensuring that they would ask “An audit of the entire network”. The tip of the iceberg. Worst of all, Spain has entered a maelstrom of delays and cancellations in Spanish high speed trains as not remembered. This morning’s cable theft is only the last case of a summer that already closes with other cancellations due to infrastructure problems, trains that crack and Fire affectations that, according to Minister Óscar Puente, could have been avoided. What the summer is demonstrating is that, for some reasons or for others, the ADIF infrastructure needs more investments or is being oversized. The bridge itself indicated a few weeks ago that the volume of trains in recent years He has shot but in ELECONOMIST They also pointed out that the investment has not gone hand in hand with such growth. Photo | Dariusz Sieczkowski and Xataka In Xataka | This megameter that joins Europe with a high -speed train sounds good. The problem is too good to be real

Renfe has had a record summer of delays, and more than two million AVE travelers have run out of refund for changes

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Summer has been hard for rail transport in Spain. Four out of ten high speed trains They arrived late at their destinationbut only three out of 100 passengers were able to claim some kind of compensation, according to The world. The data comes after hardening Refund conditions of Renfe in 2024, the main reason why the figures contrast both with the data prior to the reform. Change of conditions. In July 2024, Renfe reformed Its ‘punctuality commitment’, multiplying the minimum delay time necessary to claim half of the ticket. If 15 minutes were enough to get 50% of the amount, now a full hour is needed. For total refund, the threshold went from 30 minutes to an hour and a half. The company justified this tightening as an “update” to continue being “the most advantageous for the traveler”, as the medium collects. Summer figures. As They point From the world, between June and August, 6,554 long -distance trains and AVE arrived with delays exceeding 15 minutes, affecting 2.5 million passengers. However, with the new rules, only 444,000 travelers were entitled to compensation. This means that more than 2 million users who would have received a refund with the previous criteria were left without it. This, according to the medium, would mean a saving of about 79 million euros only in these three months. Context. The reform is covered in the European Parliament Regulation of 2021, although at that time, Renfe offered much more generous compensations than the minimum required by European regulations. And while the EU forces to compensate with 25% of the ticket after 60 minutes late, the Spanish operator gave 50% with only 15 minutes. Now he has hardened his measures just when more delays are recorded. Problems that follow there. Minister Óscar Puente acknowledged in September that the rail system will continue to have incidents “at least two more years”, according to collect The world. The problems range from Fissures in Talgo S106 trains (which forced to withdraw the low cost services from AVLO on the Madrid-Barcelona route) up to infrastructure deficiencies caused by fireaccording to the medium. The alternative to service, the conventional bird, costs up to 34% more than the economic option eliminated. What comes now? Bridge has traveled to Germany To look for new trains in factories such as Siemens, recognizing that without renewing the fleet it will be impossible to improve the service, as collect The world. “We must not launch the bells on the fly, but if we do not renew the fleet, it is evident that we will not be able to improve in any case the service we are providing to the citizenship,” admits bridge. And in addition to having been a summer to forget in terms of ferroviar delays, it has also agreed that reimbursement conditions have also worsened. Cover image | Falk2 In Xataka | Renfe has a new and gigantic project in progress: a night train to connect Europe from this to west

He vibrated so much that “the Water of the Váter came out.” Renfe has a problem in Catalonia and the AVE of Lleida is only the last example

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A train in which it was impossible to travel with relative comfort. Let’s not say sleep or work. The videos in which an Avant is shown that vibrates extremely in the Lleida-Barcelona line are only the last example of a high speed that does not stop accumulating problems for Renfe. “The Water of the Váter came out”. This is what A user assured of the Avant Lleida-Barcelona train that circulated with extreme vibrations on August 19. Views the images that can be found on social networks, what Kevin Bruque, spokesman for users Avant Catalunya, is not very far -fetched RAC1. The violence with which the train moved while in motion has left us publications in which it is observed to backpacks moving violently and Water bottles that remain standing miracle. Many complaints. It is not the first time that Avant users between Lleida and Barcelona complain bitterly about the conditions of the journey. “People get dizzy” in an hour “that they could take advantage of to rest or work,” Bruque emphasizes. Extreme vibrations are only the last case of a line that accumulates complaints and demands of users. Already in March, Segre He collected the demands of the passengers who claim a greater number of frequencies and an early early option since the first train leaves at 7:05. They also emphasized the constant delays and breakdowns suffered by the line. Renfe’s response. Those days, Segre He collected that Renfe’s response to this request for an Avant that leaves before 7:05 points to Rodalies. The company defends that service is also provided with a regional train and that, therefore, the line is already covered. However, the platform ensures that the service is not comparable since with Rodalies it takes more than three hours to arrive in Barcelona from Lleida while in Avant and Ave they move on the border of the hour. This causes taking the first Rodalies train to arrive even later in Barcelona that with the first fast train of the day. Rodalies in the spotlight. Renfe’s performance in Catalonia is under the spotlight. In what we have been, Rodalies has not stopped adding breakdowns, suspensions and delays. To the point that the circulation has been suspended up to three times. In railroads.org They collect the incidents that are added daily in Rodalies. On August 18, six incidents were counted in the network. On August 19 another four and August 20 increased to 17 incidents of all kinds. When we write these lines on August 21, 33 incidents have been counted so far. But also high speed. In the first week of this August we met the end of a soap opera that had begun in July, that of the Avril trains. Renfe decided to withdraw these trains of its Madrid-Barcelona line when cracks are detected in them. A few days before, the information had jumped that some of these trains were literally breaking. Renfe threw balls out And he just said that had reorganized the line. Subsequently, Pópuli voice He showed the images where a crack was clearly seen on the train. Renfe had already decided to get these trains out of circulation although at first he opted for circular at a lower speed. An unforgettable summer for the user. And to forget by Renfe. The company has been in which it has faced a breakdown in the line to Andalusia that left users without air conditioning and in the middle of anywhere For 13 hours. Those same problems, with less serious consequences, They were subsequently repeated. Also in Andalusia the circulation had to be suspended momentarily by Goteras in a Malaga tunnel. Then came the aforementioned case of cracks in the Avril trains. And finally, fires have stopped circulation between Madrid and Galicia during a week in which Renfe has offered solutions With lights and shadows. Photo | Kabelleger / David Gubler In Xataka | “In 1961 it took Bilbao for three hours and five minutes. Now it takes three and ten”: Cantabria and the drama of Spain with the train

We have asked Renfe what alternatives we have to the cancellations of the AVE in Galicia. There are good and bad news

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For sixth consecutive day, the high -speed circulation of the Galician corridor remains suspended. The service between Madrid and the Galician cities is provided only partially and in extraordinary frequencies. We have spoken with Renfe and consumer associations to know what their alternatives are. Sixth day without bird. Renfe cannot provide the high speed service of the Galician corridor as a whole. So The company itself confirmed it on its social networks but On its website Information about the latest news related to the railway situation between Madrid and Galicia is not found. No, at least, with a first glance. It is the result of the serious fires that are ravaging Zamora, León and Ourense, which They do not allow for sure to the high speed line. Given the impossibility of guaranteeing an improvement in them and, therefore, an opening of the line, Renfe confirmed almost at 11:00 am that all trains of today Tuesday, August 19, were suspended. Click on the image to go to the original tweet To (or from) Zamora. The solution that Renfe is giving is that passengers who prefer can travel from Madrid to Zamora or start their trip to the capital in the latter city, if it moves in the opposite direction. It is a patch that also requires adapting to Special schedules because the usual frequencies or schedules are not being fulfilled. Arriving in Galicia from Zamora or arriving in Zamora from the Galician community has already been in charge of the client. The latter is the one who has to look for life to take the train or reach its original destination. Something that, from Facua, they point out, should not happen. Buses? Jordi Castilla, Facua spokesman, explains that Renfe has the obligation to allow the change of ticket or its cancellation for free. Something that is already doing. However, it specifies that the company has to “relocate the person in an alternative environment without any cost.” From Xataka We have asked Renfe about this possibility and if they are valuing to include it in the next few days but we have not obtained an answer. Nor have those who In social networks they are asking Link Galicia with Zamora by bus since the main roads remains open. From Facua they emphasize that if the suspend and Renfe service does not offer this possibility, the client has the right to use a public transport means (such as a bus) and claim the money from the company. Not so a private transport, so the airplanes would be discarded. Cancellation expenses could also be claimed, such as a hotel night. What if I want to travel to or from Zamora? In Xataka We have contacted Renfe’s customer service. From Facua they point out that if we have a ticket with departure in Madrid to a Galician city and cover the journey to Zamora (or we start it in this city to Madrid) we have the right to receive part of the previously paid ticket. The same has been confirmed to us from the customer service of the railway company but, unlike the change of tickets or its cancellation, it cannot be done by telephone. In this case, you have to perform a online claim by filling out the form which is facilitated on the web or attending the office of the origin or destination station. Little in advance. Until now, Renfe has preferred to hurry until the last moment the cancellation of the trains. To the point that the confirmation that no train would circulate today in the high -speed line has not reached almost noon. That is causing many users to ask the company through social networks like Twitter what will happen to their tickets. The answer is repeated in that case: the client will be informed by social networks, mail and SMS. The telephone service and the website are being referred to change or cancel the tickets but in X only reference is being made to the confirmed cancellations and not to the trains that, it is not confirmed, if they will circulate in the next few days. What if I travel the weekend? In Xataka We have asked Renfe’s customer service if possible change or cancel a ticket for next Friday. They have confirmed that yes, there would be no problem even without the company having not yet confirmed the cancellation. From Facua they explain that in this, and in any other case, there is no minimum anticipation time with which Renfe or any other company must operate. “It remains in the good or bad faith of the company because if you know that it will be impossible to travel, you should inform you as soon as possible so you can look for alternatives and not have to adapt at the last minute.” Despite this, we can confirm that by telephone, these returns are being admitted even though there are still no confirmed cancellations beyond today, August 19. Photo | Ume and Nelso Silva In Xataka | Renfe has a new and gigantic project in progress: a night train to connect Europe from this to west

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