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Spain lowers train speed limit after tragic accident

2026-01-26 22:41:23Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Spain lowers train speed limit after tragic accident
Illustrative photo

Spanish railway authorities have temporarily reduced the speed limit on a section of the high-speed train line between Madrid and Barcelona after a defect in the tracks was discovered.

Transport Minister Óscar Puente said a crack had been found on the line on Sunday evening, about 110km west of Barcelona, ​​between Alcover and l'Espluga de Francolí, in the Catalonia region.

The development comes days after a high-speed train crash that killed 45 people in southern Spain and amid severe disruptions to local rail services in the country's northeast.

The Ministry of Transport said that the defect does not pose a risk to trains traveling on that line and that they will continue to run.

This is the latest and most drastic reduction in some speed limits on expressways in recent days, following the accident that occurred earlier this month.

As the BBC reports, the speed limit on the affected section will be 80 km/h until further notice. High-speed trains travel at up to 300 km/h between Madrid and Barcelona, ​​one of the most used long-distance connections in Spain.

Last week, the speed limit on some sections of the Madrid-Barcelona line was temporarily reduced to 230 km/h after drivers reported vibrations or other anomalies on the road, before being restored to 300 km/h after technical checks.

Some sections of the Madrid-Valencia line also had temporary reductions to 160 km/h and 200 km/h.

Meanwhile, local Rodalies service in Catalonia has been suspended.

Last week, a trainee conductor was killed when a train hit a collapsed wall; service on Rodalies was suspended while conductors demanded better safety guarantees and the lines were reviewed.

On Monday, two separate incidents caused further chaos in the region, as service was suspended again, before partially resuming later in the day. The Spanish government said it did not know the cause of the incidents, but did not rule out a cyberattack.

The Republican Left Party of Catalonia (ERC) said the Rodalies network has suffered from "decades of underinvestment".

“The reputational damage is as bad as, or worse than, the economic losses,” said Ramon Talamàs, president of the Terrassa Chamber of Commerce.

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is expected to appear before Congress on February 11 to be questioned about the rail crisis.

These measures come as the investigation continues into the high-speed accident in Adamuz, where the rear carriages of a train heading north to Madrid derailed on a straight section, causing a collision with an oncoming train.

Investigators have examined a 40cm section of track that broke off, apparently shortly before the derailment.

The Ministry of Transport said that the line where the accident occurred had been renovated and had passed recent technical checks.

However, it has been discovered that the damaged section of rail, manufactured in 2023, was welded onto an older section, manufactured in 1989, and the joint between the two appears to be the point where the crack occurred.

The head of the independent commission investigating the accident, Iñaki Barrón, said that "everything seems to suggest that" the separation of two welded sections of rail was the cause of the tragedy.

Opposition politicians are demanding the resignation of Óscar Puente, accusing him of deceiving the public after the tragedy.


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