A fire on an AVE interrupts the Madrid-Barcelona line and leaves 4,500 travelers unemployed

A fire in the rear engine of a Renfe AVE when it was traveling between the Zaragoza towns of Ricla and Plasencia de Jalón caused a cut on the Madrid-Barcelona high-speed railway line this Monday. The incident, in the middle of the Pilar bridge, has left between 4,500 and 5,000 passengers stopped at different points on the line, according to the calculations of the public operator, which refers only to its travelers, not counting those who use services from other companies such as Iryo or Ouigo.

According to the deputy general director of the presidency of Renfe, Sergio Bueno, at the time of the fire, 14 Renfe trains were detained at the Guadalajara, Calatayud, Zaragoza and Lleida stations. The problem, which occurred around 4:00 p.m., is located in the section between Calatayud and Zaragoza, but has had an impact on the entire line and also on Iryo and Ouigo convoys. The three high-speed operators on the Spanish network have been forced to cancel departures scheduled for this afternoon.

In total, it is estimated that there are 27 affected units, which were already on the move or were scheduled to leave. Renfe operates 21 of these trains, Iryo has four and Ouigo, two. The public operator has indicated in its account on the social network X that there is no time forecast for the restoration of the line. It even suggests that the outage could continue throughout the day and extend into the early hours of the morning.

The public company is warning its customers of significant delays and is offering the possibility of exchanging tickets. As a solution, a road transport bridge has been created between Zaragoza and Calatayud. The objective is that once the cut section has been saved, most of them can continue their train journeys to or from those Aragonese stations.

At the same time, the infrastructure manager Adif is supervising the catenary passing through La Ricla in case it is possible to restore single-track railway circulation. The Renfe manager has referred to the point of the accident as “difficult to access as it is located on a ramp.”

The AVE stranded 255 kilometers from Madrid burst into flames, with a visible smoke screen, when it was traveling to Figueres (Girona). Its departure from Madrid Puerta de Atocha occurred at 2:27 p.m. and it had to conclude its journey at 7:00 p.m. The passenger cars were not affected, but it was necessary to cut the voltage in the catenary and evacuate the passengers, with 283 people on board. Renfe has indicated that there have been no injuries. The evacuees from the damaged AVE have been taken to their destination by bus, except for one person with a disability who makes the trip by taxi.

Bueno has pointed out that the passenger "has not been at risk at any time and this train, like the rest of the fleet, was in perfect condition, inspected and operational." Renfe management has not yet had access to the possible causes of the fire, which the driver himself noticed, according to the operator's version.

The damaged train corresponds to the Siemens 100 series, the oldest in the public operator's fleet. The fire has necessitated the intervention of the fire service of the Provincial Council of Zaragoza, which has released images of the incident.