An indefinite number of travelers, hundreds and even thousands, expect to be rescued from their trains that has left the entire rail network without tension. Until 116 convoys were stranded in the middle of nowhere and, after 6:00 p.m., the Minister of Transportation, Óscar Puente, has referred to the priority of getting “to all the people who have been trapped in the trains after the supply of supply [eléctrico]”At that time there were 26 trains thrown.
Bridge has used the social network X to indicate that you try to serve all the isolated people: entrance in the afternoon there were 14 trains stranded in the Madrid-Seville line; eight in Madrid-Barcelona; Two trains were immobilized in the line that links Antequera and Granada, and there was a train stopped for sale of bathrooms and others in Pajares. The Government representative expects the medium and long distance railway services to operate tomorrow Tuesday by Renfe, Iryo and Ouigo.
The electrical crisis occurred around 12:30. New exits were immediately suspended. User complaints, but the situation is distressing for many. Messages such as Mountain, a traveler of the Madrid-Valencia AVE who left at 12:00 from the capital: “We carry from 12:40 unemployed have arrived at this newspaper, the water and food of the train has been exhausted. People begin to get nervous and angry. A machine has come to tow to basin, but they have not been able and drink ”.
Better luck has had Alba aboard the Madrid-Gijon Avlo stopped from 1:30 p.m. people but we are still waiting. ” That train carried, according to their calculations, about 420 people on board.
From Renfe, it is assured that it works “in the transfer of various trains that were on the way to the recovery of the electricity supply.” These tasks are done with tugs.
The president of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has ratified that the restoration of the services of medium and long distance railway is not expected in the remainder of the day. He has housed some hope about the implementation of nearby services, basic for mobility in cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. And Renfe adds that once the electricity supply returns “two hours will be necessary to gradually restore the railway operation.”
With paralyzed trains, the only mode of collective transport standing is the bus. The stops and exchangers of large cities are receiving an exceptional traffic volume and the forces of the order have come to take positions in these enclaves in Madrid to avoid problems due to agglomerations. At the same time, the traffic jams are kilometer, already in rush hour, on the exit and access roads to the city.
In addition to the paralysis of the entire railroad, with hundreds of travelers at the doors of the main stations, the images of the day reflect the closure of tunnels on roads in Madrid; streets with traffic lights off; Public calls to avoid displacements, and the accumulation of flight delays, with a 20% capacity reduction in air traffic to guarantee safety.
Entrance The afternoon does not work at high speed or conventional traffic that provides vicinity in Madrid or Valencia. Nor are Rodalies trains in Catalonia. Ouigo decided around 4:00 pm the suspension of all his trips planned for this Monday for a matter of force majeure. The nuance, the latter of the force majeure, will be relevant to determine who pays the claims.
Rodalies has come to ask those who are inside a stopped train to stay inside and wait. “Do not go down to the tracks, for security reasons,” he warned. Rodalies has closed access to the main stations and has recommended not going to them to avoid displacements. The same council has left Adif in search of the collapse of the main railway nodes.
The total stop situation is extensible to the metro networks in Madrid and Barcelona, both without tension from noon. The management of the blackout underground has not been a simple task: Metropolitan Transport of Barcelona has reported that at the time of tension loss it had a total of 24 trains in the network tunnels. At 2:00 pm they had all been evacuated except one, they report sources from this entity. From Madrid there are images of dozens of travelers walking through the tunnels, for example in the immediate vicinity of the Suances station, once traffic stopped.
The municipal emergency plan has been activated in the city of Madrid. The Urban bus service, dependent on the EMT, has been provided despite the chaotic situation, but the municipal company has warned of possible incidents “depending on the traffic situation.” The mayor of the capital, José Luis Martínez-Almeida has asked the population to avoid the streets in the streets in order to leave them free for the circulation of emergency services. Thousands of traffic lights are without light and the tunnels of the M-30 ring road, among other underground steps that only open for the passage of ambulances or other emergency media.
Delays in Barajas
Uncertainty was also extended to the beginning by the Madrid-Barajas airport terminals. The tonic for more than 30 minutes has been the billing stalls without activity, mechanical stairs and paralyzed holding ribbons, in addition to unanswered computer equipment in the counters of the airlines. The lines in passport controls, control stalls and in the luggage collection tapes have also been a common denominator in other large airports, but at no time has air activity ceased. “Due to the power cut, some incidents in airports are taking place. The contingency structure are active,” explained an AENA spokesman in the first hour of this crisis, which has asked travelers to consult with airlines “because there could be incidents in land and means of transport.”
Once the electricity supply is recovered through its own generators, from the airport operator it has been indicated that its infrastructure are operational and that “the impact on flights will depend on the difficulties of passengers and crews to arrive.” AENA recognizes delays although there is no talk of flight cancellations. Air Europa is one of the airlines that has warned that the aircraft “will operate as well as the ability of airports allow it.” Iberia has taken stock and of its 247 scheduled flights it has been necessary to cancel 23, none of them long radius, at the edge of 20:00 hours.
Passengers flew from London to Madrid on Monday afternoon – from complete families to businessmen – are stranded at Heathrow airport in the English capital, reports French Raffo. Iberia flight of 20:00 has been canceled “due to the lack of electricity supply in Spain and other countries,” according to an email sent by the company to passengers. At the airport about 30 people waited for more information, although the situation remained calm.
The problem is very diverse. Helen and Terry Chambers, 66 and 69, had planned to fly to Lima with a scale in Madrid on Monday to visit their son, but they have not been able to embark and expect the company to give them another flight for tomorrow. The couple comments that someone cannot be blamed specific because the blackout does not have a direct responsibility. Other passengers who had arrived from Spain in England for work, a banking businessman and two dentists, were in the same situation, although they commented that they did not have much information about how the Madrid airport was. To some of the passengers who were in Heathrow, Iberia has sent an email with a new flight for the next few days. Others were still waiting.
Air controllers have informed through their account in social network X of regulations or traffic reductions in the two large hubs of the Peninsula: Madrid-Barajas and Lisbon. Traffic intensity in Barcelona-El Prat and Castellón airport has also been reduced. The group has explained that traffic regulation is not synonymous with not operating, “but is being done with a lower capacity than usual for security.” On air traffic regulation, President Sánchez has quantified the capacity cut by 20%.
The Public Air Control Manager, ENAIRE, has reported that the operation from the company’s five control centers relies on the structures planned for this type of electrical incidents. The company has ordered “the appropriate regulations to guarantee the full security of operations.”
The airline with more traffic in the Prat, Vueling, works from noon “to minimize the impact of the blackout. For now, we are operating our flight plan and continue to monitor the situation to maintain maximum normality in the situation,” was argued shortly before 2:00 p.m. and remained after 5:00 p.m.
Among the ports, that of Barcelona keeps its basic services in common. “The port of Barcelona has contingency plans for electric cuts thanks to a network of generators that serve basic services such as the port control tower,” explain sources from the operator, although there is still no information on how the blackout affects the terminals.
