The cries caused by the drought are often buried by the cries caused by the floods, explains John Withing, author of World History of Disasters (Turner), a highly recommended reading this Sunday throughout Spain, especially in the seasons. The storm metaphorically derailed the rail service, especially in the Mediterranean corridor, and once again exposed the company’s lack of agility and reflexes.
During this night, circulation was restored on the Madrid-Seville high-speed line and on the Mediterranean Corridor, although Renfe stresses that the normalization of the service will be gradual, so some trains may suffer “significant delays”. Early this Monday there were still trains, the first of the day, that did not leave their origin, such as the Avant de Toledo and Ciudad Real. As for the Mediterranean Corridor, the work of Adif technicians has made it possible to re-establish circulation on a road between L’Aldea and Ulldecona (Tarragona).
Dozens of passengers diverted from their route and stranded in stations far from their destination explained their nightmare by telephone or by email to La Vanguardia. A nightmare that has not yet ended for many of them because they still do not know how and when they will be able to complete their journey. Renfe stressed yesterday afternoon, when numerous lines were already affected, that it offered the cancellation or change of tickets “at no cost”.
The company also advised against traveling unless it was strictly necessary. But the DANA (acronym for ‘isolated depression at high levels’, whose arrival is predictable but its effects are not) had already put the country on alert by then and had inevitably disrupted the plans of thousands of travelers not notified in time. The applications that offer the “detail and schedule of the route” yesterday seemed like a joke in bad taste, as this newspaper verified.
In the middle of the afternoon, when the Intercity 00264 that covered the route between Murcia and Barcelona had already been diverted to Valencia, where it ended its journey, the Renfe app kept insisting that it would arrive at Sants station “13 minutes late”. It is a metaphor for the mess that was experienced in countless stations and on board numerous trains. Passengers asked for data from reviewers who also knew nothing.
In addition to the Mediterranean corridor, the list of lines affected is endless. The AVE, Avant, regional trains… Long and medium-distance high-speed circulation between Madrid and Andalusia was interrupted by inclement weather that had its epicenter between La Sagra and Yeles, in Toledo, although it was able to be reestablished this morning, although with speed limitations, according to Adif. The Intercity 193 Badajoz-Madrid Chamartín and Alvia 194 Madrid Chamartín-Badajoz trains were also suspended on Sunday.
The train dance was constant. Some diverted from Valencia and Alicante via Madrid to Barcelona. And others from Figueres via Madrid to Alicante and Valencia. The Avant Madrid-Ciudad Real-Puertollano and Madrid-Toledo service was also inoperative (without alternative means). The AVE Barcelona-Sevilla stayed in Zaragoza. In Toledo there were flooded and muddy stations. The rains in Toledo and Madrid intensified overnight.
The operator was quick to clarify that the passengers affected by these and other cancellations could “change or cancel their tickets for free”, but that was “the least it could do”, explain the testimonies collected by this newspaper, which speak of arrivals to unforeseen stations with overwhelmed customer services and unable to offer alternative solutions or resources to spend the night.
“Will they charter buses to resume the journey by road?” “Will they enable us some accommodation to spend the night?” “Will the line be normalized on Monday?” asked the occupants of Intercity 00264 in Valencia. Workers who did what they could, and who tried to put a smile on the face of the disaster, explained that they had no answers to such questions and that they could only return the money for the tickets.
Renfe says it has reinforced its official information channels for those who plan to travel this Monday and has provided the information telephone number 912 320 320, in addition to sending SMS messages and emails (which many passengers deny having received) to travelers with origin or destination in Madrid or Toledo, a city severely punished by DANA and the best place to read World history of disasters yesterday.
The storm has also partially closed ports such as Valencia and Sagunt to maritime traffic, and has also complicated road travel. Especially striking is the case of landslides on provincial roads in the Matarraña region, Teruel. Landslides have also been recorded on the TE-V-3303, between Cretas and Lledó, which forced extreme caution. Worse was in the south of Catalonia, with numerous impassable roads, as explained in another chronicle in this newspaper.
One of the passengers affected by the DANA is Mar, who left Murcia at 1:13 p.m. bound for Barcelona, ??along with her daughter and her parents, octogenarians. At that time, as she discovered later, it was already known that the line was badly affected, although the public address system only reported “delays” between l’Aldea-Tortosa. Her train had already been running for a long time when they were told they were being diverted to Valencia. With the 350 euros they gave her for her tickets, she hired a taxi that will cost her 400 and she resumed the trip through her means. When La Vanguardia spoke with her, she still had three hours left on the route. Her WhatsApp motto is: On the road.
