A nightmare morning at the Atocha and Santa Justa stations: “There are many people waiting and little information” | Economy

“In less than an hour from our departure, we raise ourselves and we announced that they would cut the light. Totally in the dark, without being able to use the bathrooms. So we were until 6.00 in the morning,” says Francisco Letán, a traveler who left Madrid on the high -speed railway line (Ave) at 8.45 pm on Sunday at the destination of Seville. The train left 40 minutes late. The car stopped once Toledo due to two accidents recorded this Sunday: The theft of copper cables in four points of the railway line This joins the capital of Madrid with the Andalusian around 5.44 pm on Sunday; And an “hook” of an Iroo train along the same line that dragged the chain and worsen the problem. In total, due to the two accidents About 16,000 travelers were affected Between Sunday and this Monday. “I don’t understand it, it makes no sense to let the train came out when we were at risk of being blocked,” says Francisco, “we were very cold because they opened the doors and took the jackets to protect the children”.

The same was wondered this Monday morning Almudena álvarez, a traveler who made the trip to the city of Guadalquivir on Sunday. The journey that lasts two hours with 40 minutes left Seville at 7.50 pm and became an odyssey of more than nine hours aboard a train in which the water and food were exhausted. And in which the lights never went to sleep. “First we stopped without knowing what was going on. Then they told us that they had stolen some cables and that the train would slowly advance possible. So, all night,” he says.

Both the Santa Justa station and that of Atocha gave themselves on the first day of the week covered by thousands of passengers whose trains have undergone delays due to accidents. While Betlehem, Marina, Nerea and Eva, four friends who travel together from Madrid leaving at 10.00, keep the calm that makes you know on vacation, in Seville, Beatriz Montero tries to take the nearest train to reach the Archaeological Museum of Madrid, where you have to perform at 15.30 of the second examination of an opposition to a conservative of the museum. “It seems that I do not arrive in time. I am with a horse anxiety,” says Beatriz, although valued if he compensated to travel in a shared car for six hours. “If I do not present myself, I have an automatic suspense. Today we examine five people and I will present the documents of the trip to the field, to see if they have pity. I have two other exams,” he says.

“I’m going to work,” says Fernando in Madrid. His train planned to start from Atocha to Seville at 9.30. “I just hope that when I have to return in the afternoon the breakdown has already been resolved,” he says while waiting on the other side of the red and white ribbon that, in theory, divides travelers who have their closest train to leave those who have to wait for something else. Everyone tries to be close to the screens, waiting for the platform to go. At ten in the morning, the 7.00 cádiz trains or Granada were still indicated at 7.30. Both with a red warning: “delayed”.

“Siviglia train of nine in the morning, please pass, please!” A Adif worker says on the speaker around 10.00. There are applause and whistles among travelers. An hour late, the first trains started starting with that destination. Elena Fernández finally accesses the Atocha station, but takes care of Victoria. “My friend had a train at 7.00 and is still on the waiting platform. They are taking us inside, but we don’t know if we can leave,” he explains, he explains Who goes to the April fair with that friend. “I think we will join and go by car,” says the young woman, who does not want to lose the beginning of the fair and “anything” to leave Madrid.

Many of travelers fear losing the train and with it, precisely, the celebrations of the April fair, which start this Monday with the Pescaíto Night. Among the crowd there is a gypsy dress and lighting flowers in the hair. Liliana Esquivel is carefully folded in a bag a pink and black satin dress with flyers that betray its destination. He travels with his husband and in his plans he will still go to dinner tonight on the streets of Seville. “Tomorrow he and friends will go to the bulls, but I’m not because I am an animalist,” he says indicating his husband.

At noon, the trains started starting from their time from Seville. Renfe announced that the Granada-Sevilla route, with Avant, scheduled for 12.17 in principle, would have promptly left Santa Justa. “I trust to get to the university in time, but I saw how the thing is, I don’t know,” says the student Elena Purple at the moment her train appears with the platform indicated. Two hours later, Renfe reported that from the line between Andalusia and Madrid on Monday morning, 20 trains had already remained: 15 in the direction of Madrid and five others in Andalusia.

In Atocha, the workers and the police managed to maintain a certain order within the station, but since the trains started circulating again, the hall was full of passengers that the same thing was traveling to 10.00 compared to three hours later. Several languages ​​and different accents are listened to commenting on the situation, all waiting to be called. “This is horrible,” says a passenger in English while seeing how people get off and the lower people who join the queues at the entrance.

Marisol, a Venezuelan traveler, arrived a few minutes ago at the station and does not understand anything that happens. “What stole some cables? I had no idea, they didn’t tell us anything here,” he says. Their trip to Seville started at 10 in the morning, but they have not yet told them when they could leave again: “I only see many people waiting and no information”, complains. Renfe estimates that of the 29 trains of the company that came out between morning and noon, the average delay was two hours, although some convoys have been delayed more than four. Like private operators Iryo and Ouigo, the situation was normalized in the afternoon, although this did not avoid new delays.