The incorporation of Ouigo and Iryo to the high-speed line between Madrid and Barcelona has led the train to break a historical passenger record and has caused a significant drop in ticket prices, but it is not all good news for those who are They move at more than 300 kilometers per hour between the Atocha and Sants stations. The negative side of the entry of competition is a drop in AVE punctuality rates to levels never seen before, which is beginning to raise concern among the most frequent users.
According to the latest figures to which La Vanguardia has had access, one in four trains arrives later than expected. The punctuality rate, which in the Barcelona-Madrid corridor was 92.26% in 2019, has fallen to 73.58% in 2023, which is almost over. These are data that have never been seen in the 15 years of history of the high-speed line between the two large Spanish cities. The most common thing was that year after year it exceeded 90% punctuality without major setbacks.
The most common causes of delays in recent months are interlocking, signaling or electrification breakdowns, all of which are attributable to the railway infrastructure manager (Adif). Sources from the sector point out that the main reason for these incidents is greater use of the roads due to the increase in traffic, which has increased especially since 2021. The causes attributable to Adif are the first cause of lateness in the reports to which it has been This newspaper had access, assuming twice as many problems as those due to external causes such as adverse atmospheric conditions or breakdowns of the trains themselves. Three years ago, however, the infrastructure did not cause so many problems and the first reason for the delays was attributed to Renfe itself.
The data worries the state public operator and the other two private companies, which do not share statistics of this type. But sources in the sector predict that they will be similar or even worse, since by having fewer trains, they have less room for maneuver in the event of an incident, especially in the case of the French low-cost subsidiary Ouigo, with just the right convoys. At this point, Renfe is the best prepared, but even so, as the number of paths reserved for all operators is much greater, the recovery cannot be carried out as quickly as in the past.
This is demonstrated by the data that records delays of more than thirty minutes, which have directly doubled. Between April and October of this year there were 94 compared to 41 in the same period in 2019, when they had no competition and acted in a monopoly situation. At that time, if something characterized the high-speed network it was its punctuality, which had nothing to do with that of Rodalies and was practically guaranteed to meet the scheduled time, those competitive two and a half hours of direct trains or a little more. of three hours in case of making intermediate stops in Zaragoza or other intermediate stations such as Lleida or Camp de Tarragona. Delays and incidents also affect, on a rebound, travelers traveling on high-speed trains between Barcelona and Girona or Figueres.
The worst month according to the same data was June, when there were 19 incidents that caused delays of more than half an hour. The month of July was not much better either and 17 were recorded. Since then, every month there have been more than a dozen days in which travelers have encountered delays of more than thirty minutes on the high-speed line between Madrid and Barcelona. to the French border.
The situation is not exclusive only to the most coveted corridor with the most travelers. Trips that go from Barcelona to the south of Spain, beyond the Spanish capital, still present worse results. In the case of trains between Barcelona and Malaga, punctuality has gone from 84.85% to 59.52%. The situation is even worse for trips between Barcelona and Seville, with a decrease in punctuality from 90.05% to 44.72%. That is, more than half of the trains between the Catalan capital and the Andalusian capital arrive late. In this case, there are not three operators that share tracks, there are only two, Renfe and Iryo. More than the competition, the situation is attributable to the various works that Adif has carried out during the summer months on the high-speed line between Madrid and Andalusia, which has also had a negative impact on the punctuality of the Avant trains. bound for other places such as Ciudad Real, Puertollano and Toledo.
The new president of Adif, Ángel Contreras, will have to face this problem, of which he is aware due to his position at the head of the general directorate of Conservation and Maintenance of the infrastructure manager for the last five years. However, the increase in delays is not the only urgent issue to be resolved regarding high speed in Catalonia. The incorporation of the new operators has also pushed the capacity of the platforms and the lobby of the Sants station to the limit, which was never designed to absorb such a high number of passengers and the entry into service of the Sagrera is urgent.
The long lines to go through security checks and then to get off to the corresponding platform increasingly generate more discomfort among regular users. Although some measures have been taken to try to mitigate the collapse, the situation is becoming uncomfortable on a daily basis and when one of those incidents or delays that are on the rise occurs, the situation already becomes unmanageable.