collected Archives - usatoday24

A Renfe train was left without air conditioning at 40ºC. 1,056 days later, an affected person has just collected her money

June 9, 2026 by usatoday24

How much would you fight for the refund of 31.90 euros? Macarena LE, a resident of a town in Teruel, is clear: three years, if necessary. And that is how long it has been behind Renfe for it to refund the price of a ticket between Zaragoza and Barcelona. The reason? The car’s air conditioning. Evident, due to the non-existent air conditioning of the car. What has happened? A Renfe user named Macarena LE, a member of Facua, has gotten the money back for a train ticket she took three years ago. The company had promised that it would do so with each and every one of the people who took that train, but the money never appeared in the user’s bank account. a little odyssey. Despite telling them that they would return the money to the passengers, the amount never arrived so after a few weeks, the affected person filed a claim, they explain in Facua. With no news about it after three months, he decided to put himself in the hands of the legal service of the consumer defense association. Once reaching this point, the association filed a new claim. To this complaint, Renfe responded that it gave the order to return the money but it still did not arrive. After another four months, Facua files a new complaint and Renfe assures him that it has tried to refund the money but that the procedure has been rejected on two occasions. At that moment, Renfe instructs Macarena LE to receive the money through a payment platform. This method also being impossible and the months accumulating, Facua sends a third claim to Renfe in which they simply ask it to deposit the money into the bank account of the affected person, attaching the document that proves its ownership. Three years after taking that train, the associate has ended up receiving her 31.90 euros. A trip… complicated. And, once seated, they assure in Facua that the conductor informed the passengers that the air conditioning was broken and that their travel money would be refunded in compensation for the inconvenience caused. But the journey between Zaragoza and Barcelona had an added problem: July 18 with departure at 3:52 p.m. and arrival at 5:20 p.m. That day maximum temperatures of 44 degrees were reported. Obviously, the heat must have been oppressive inside and the affected person claims that they had to drink water constantly to get through the trip in the best possible way. The expected quality. Due to the numerous claims filed by Facua, and beyond the fact that the money was not returned until three years later, Renfe never fought not to return the money. Instead they admitted that they would send the money back for “not having offered the service with the quality levels” expected. However, the fulfillment of the procedure itself does not seem to have had the expected quality either. And Facua pointed out to Renfe that they were failing to comply with article 21.3 of the Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007, of November 16according to which: “Employers must respond to the claims received in the shortest possible time and, in any case, within a maximum period of one month from the presentation of the claim.”. When Facua presented this second claim in which this regulatory text was recalled, Renfe had not given a response or paid the corresponding money for four months. What if it happens to me? That Renfe has returned the money to a passenger sets a precedent but does not automatically lead the company to return the money in the event of an air conditioning breakdown. In its rules, Renfe states that the traveler has the right to receive compensation for the cancellation of the trip, for its interruption, for a lack or deficiency in the service provided on board or for delay, but it makes it clear that such compensation will not be carried out if: The reason is an extraordinary circumstance unrelated to railway operation, such as extreme weather events (a storm that leaves a train without heating in winter, for example) or natural disasters. Nor if the breakdown or problem was caused by the behavior of the traveler. Nor if it is the damage caused by a third party outside the railway company that causes the incident (people on the track, copper theft, sabotage… etc.) That is to say, the mere absence of air conditioning does not automatically imply that the passenger’s money will be returned. What has happened will have to be taken into account to decide whether the company is obliged to act in this way. Photo | Nelson Silva In Xataka | The Madrid Cercanías have become a nest of problems and delays: their solution is new “megatrains”

A website has collected more than 1,000 speed limitations on Spanish trains. Adif has knocked her down

March 11, 2026 by usatoday24

They are called Dignitat a les Vies and they say they are “fed up with the mistreatment by Renfe, Cercanías and Adif.” The claim is clear: “we want a decent railway system.” And as a means of protest they had a website with all the speed limitations found on Spanish railways. They had it, because Adif has taken down the website. Cessation of activity. It is the title that heads a writing from Dignitat a les Viesa platform that until last Friday had an active web page in which all the speed limitations of Spanish railways were collected. The text reads that Adif has confirmed that the blocking of the page is derived from a previous complaint on its part, understanding that “the information on Temporary Speed Limits (LTV) is ‘sensitive’ and cannot be known by the general public.” Listening to the road manager, the court has ordered the blocking of the website. What was shown? Simply, all the speed limitations present on Spanish roads. Supported by users and, above all, by machinists according to The Country, The association had a map where more than 1,000 incidents were recorded. The map, which Dignitat a les Vies assures has been replicated by the media (such as its own The Country) and has not been removed, showed public information that Adif refuses to provide in what they describe as “an act of paternalism. According to these users, “Adif is failing to comply with the current legal framework. In accordance with Law 9/2025 on Sustainable Mobility, Regulation (EU) 2017/1926 (MMTIS) – updated by 2024/490 – and Directive (EU) 2019/1024”, which requires them to make public “the data on the infrastructure and its restrictions.” And they emphasize that showing them “helps the user understand chronic delays.” The restrictions. As reflected in the newspaper The CountryIn Spain there are currently more than one mile of temporary speed restrictions active. This means that there are more than 1,000 points where drivers must circulate at a speed lower than the maximum speed permitted at that point in a generic manner. These restrictions are a consequence of actions on the tracks but also the consequence of continuous warnings by train drivers. And it is that, as they have confirmed to Xatakathe workers indicate with a report points that, in their opinion, should be reviewed or do not allow driving at the maximum speed required. Everything indicates that, after the Adamuz accident in Córdobathe zeal with these notices is greater than before. Train drivers also have the power to reduce speed at specific points if they so deem it necessary. These speed reductions must be reflected with a notice to the command post and in a report but, as we said, Adif has the final say on what is reviewed, what point is left for later and where speed restrictions are applied and for how long. Is it important? Yes, because temporary speed restrictions have multiplied high-speed travel time. Right now, Adif has indicated to the operators that Journey times are going to be longer in Madrid-Barcelona due to actions on the tracks and trains have been eliminated. This situation will last for months and as it is an issue that falls on the side of the road manager, the client has no right to compensation. The data of The Country They indicated on March 9 that there are 422 points where trains must run at a maximum of 30 km/h. It is the most repeated speed limitation. If the restrictions at 60 km/h or less are added, there are more than 850 points in Spain where high-speed trains cannot go above this speed. Where are there more limitations? Due to the volume of traffic and passengers, it is logical that the restrictions in Madrid-Barcelona have focused attention. Especially since it has been difficult to travel between both cities during the day without suffering any surprises or being clear about what time you are going to arrive, which complicates the traditional movement between cities. However, the media reports that line 100 Madrid-Hendaya is the most affected with 83 temporary speed limitations that reduce speed by 112 kilometers along the total 641 kilometers, followed far away by line 400 Alcázar de San Juan-Cádiz, which totals 85 limited kilometers spread over 69 restrictions found along 577 kilometers. However, it is the line 240 S. Vicenç Calders-L’Hospitalet that is most affected if the number of kilometers with active speed limitations is taken into account. And of the total 71 kilometers of the line, 56 of them have limitations below normal as a result of 35 conflict points. Photo | José Ignacio Esgarriaga In Xataka | Spain decided to build its social life around the AVE. And now he’s discovering the consequences of failing.

The US wants to give up bringing the most valuable samples collected on Mars. Lockheed promises to do it for less than half

July 8, 2025 by usatoday24

Since February 2021, The Rover Perseverance patiently travels the Jezero crateran old river basin on the surface of Mars. Over there, where millions of years ago the water flowedNASA Robot It has been collecting fragments of rock and Martian dust With a very specific objective: Find signs of past life. It is not any mission. Is, According to NASA itselfthe first step of an ambitious plan to bring intact samples from another planet. For more than three years, Perseverance has done his job in silence and the samples that Now rest inside of small sealed tubes, carefully deposited on the Martian surface or stored aboard the Rover itself. From space, bread crumbs would look like a trace drawn through a desert planet, hoping to be collected. A truncated promise The plan, known as Mars Sample ReturnI had to send another ship to Mars, launch from there a rocket with the samples and return them to the Earth for analysis in laboratories. But the project began to crumble. An independent review raised the cost estimated until 11,000 million dollars and delayed the possible return of the samples until 2040. In May, the new US administration presented its first budget draft: proposes to cut 24 % of NASA’s financing and cancel Mars Sample Return for considering it an exorbitant cost program. The plan must still go through Congress, but marks a clear turn: the menions manned to deep space are prioritized, such as Artemisand the projects with great budget and scarce immediate return are frozen. With the current budget cut and without guarantees of continuity, NASA decided to reexamine its options. As explained by the former administrator Bill Nelsontwo more viable alternative routes were being evaluated: one that takes advantage of the “Sky Crane” type landing system used successfully in the Curiosity and Perseverance Rovers, and another that opens the door to new proposals from the private sector. Lockheed Martin’s letter Amid the budget uncertainty, one of the great space contractors in the United States has decided to move file. Lockheed Martin, with half a century of experience in missions to Mars, has presented NASA a proposal to execute the Mars Return mission with a radically different approach: for less than 3,000 million dollars and under a fixed price contract. The change is not less. Faced with the traditional model, full of budgetary risks and with multiple public actors involved, Lockheed promises a simpler architecture. Its proposal includes a more compact landing module, based on the ship Insight that already touched Martiano soil in 2018a lighter and lighter ascent vehicle – designed to be the first to take off from another planet – and a system of re -entry to the land derived from missions such as Genesis, Stardust and Osiris-Rex. It is a commitment goes beyond engineering. Being a “Firm-Fixed Price” contract, Lockheed Martin is responsible for absorb any possible extra cost. That is, if something is complicated, the invoice does not rise. According to the company itself, that model has already proven effective in other scientific missions of deep space, where they even managed to return part of the NASA not used budget. The message is clear: if NASA wants to save its most ambitious mission without spending, Lockheed Martin is ready to lead it. Bringing back about thirty small tubes could help us answer one of humanity’s great questions. Was Mars ever inhabited? Scientists do not seek fossils or complex structures. They look for subtle indications that can only be analyzed with the level of precision allowed by land laboratories. And for that, the samples that Perseverance has collected are not any rock. They have been selected one by one depending on their location, their age, their composition and their geological context. Are, In Nasa’s own wordsthe most likely material to contain a Martian “biofirm.” But the value of these samples goes beyond the biological. They can reveal how the wet marte of 3.5 billion years ago was, how its climate evolved, why it became an arid and inhospitable planet, and how the geological, atmospheric and chemical processes interacted for millennia. They will also tell us what resources could take advantage of future manned missions: where it is safer to land, what materials are usable, what areas have risks. Images | Lockheed Martin In Xataka | NASA locked four volunteers one year simulating their life on Mars. What did not miss: an entire PS4 Games Library

Log In

Sign In

Forgot password?

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections