New Transport Minister Óscar Puente began his first month in office with a controversy on the social network X (formerly Twitter), blocking complaints from some opposition politicians about Cercanías’ management. If Puente’s social media policy continues this dynamic, the former mayor of Valladolid will be forced to block many accounts because posts on X are related to: Complaints about the operation of trains are many and are increasing due to high-speed networks.After its release and the entry of new operators, there is an ‘explosion’ in passenger numbers.
Some examples of this have occurred in recent months. Trains during the mid-December long weekend Significant delays noted in circulation between Madrid and the Valencian Community Due to a malfunction in the signaling system at Chamartín station, which lasted for several hours.
High-speed trains on the Madrid-Zaragoza-Barcelona line experienced delays due to another incident in the signaling system in the Zaragoza town of Ricla in mid-November, which affected the Renfe, Ouigo and Iryo convoys, causing delays of half an hour. . A month ago, the line from Madrid to Valencia suffered a breakdown that left a section of tracks in Monteagudo de las Salinas (Cuenca) without tension. This paralyzed trains for hours and affected four operators traveling on the network (Iryo, Ouigo, Avlo and AVE). Traffic was stopped throughout the day. Also in October, traffic between Madrid-Barcelona and France was interrupted due to the problem between Brihuega and Las Inviernas in Guadalajara. In this case, Adif, the manager of the railway infrastructure in Spain, pointed out that the wind was responsible for the collapse of the electricity system. In January 2023, there were also strong incidents caused by harsh weather conditions on the Madrid and Seville line.
Events in Madrid Asturias AVE; 3 trains derailed in Madrid; 2 derailments in Andalusia; Due to the events on the railway, the Extremadura train was delayed for hours…
Solutions? Adif spends €400,000 to switch brands.
Óscar Puente laughs at us all.
— Guaje Salvaje (@GuajeSalvaje) December 26, 2023
The newly launched AVE between Madrid and Asturias suffered at least four major delays in its first days of operation in December 2023. Renfe resources consulted new spainWe assure from the Prensa Ibérica group that the delays in this case are related to the large number of works carried out at the Chamartín station. “This infrastructure is at 50% of capacity and this is affecting trains to Asturias,” Renfe said.
The newly launched Gijón-Madrid AVE line is more than 60 minutes late. @Renfe never disappoints…
— Bego Llorente (@GobeLlorente) 30 December 2023
Every time these incidents occur, social networks, news and images of stranded passengers spread on the Internet, creating fatigue among users. A paradigmatic situation is taking place on the high-speed line between Madrid and Barcelona, where AVE punctuality rates have fallen to never-before-seen levels.. The punctuality rate in this corridor was 92.26% in 2019, but dropped to 73.58% in 2023 due to data not being closed, according to internal Renfe figures it has access to. Pioneer. These are the worst data in the 15-year history of the line connecting Spain’s major cities.
And the number of passengers suffering from these delays is increasing. The latest available data shows up to 8.4 million passengers used high-speed services between July and SeptemberThis represents an increase of 32%, according to information provided by the National Commission for Markets and Competition.
Whether there have been more delays and incidents in the past year than before liberalization started is something only Adif, who is responsible for the entire railway infrastructure, will know, but he does not provide historical data on this matter. In other cases the entity has stated relatively: The number of incidents remains at 0.05 per 1,000 kilometers traveled, the same as before liberalizationand ignores that more traffic is the source of larger events.
Adif’s investments in maintaining high speed have increased in the last six yearsAccording to the data provided by the public company to ‘entities’. While 394,072 euros (excluding VAT) were allocated for the maintenance costs of high-speed networks in 2023, this figure was 258,188 euros in 2018. According to the research, maintenance and operating costs in Spain are 100,700 euros per kilometer per year, which is average or below the average for all countries. The effectiveness of the Spanish sector in the development of high-speed rail It was prepared by Ineco, an organization affiliated with the Ministry of Transport.
Operators Ouigo and Iryo rate Adif’s efforts positively. “Our relationship with Adif is based on collaboration. We are committed to continuing to work to promote high speed in Spain”says Hélène Valenzuela, Ouigo’s general manager in Spain. Ouigo is one of the few companies to share delays on its trains in its 2022 transparency report. 38% of its convoys experienced delays in 2022; Of these 1,429 trains (81%) were delayed due to external reasons arising from infrastructure, and 325 (19%) were delayed due to internal reasons.
Sources of the French company state that they operate in some corridors with the highest passenger flow, such as the Madrid-Valencia or Madrid-Barcelona corridors. “The rail industry is a very complex industry. Incidents can occur for many reasons. Adverse weather conditions also had an impact in 2023“, they point out from Ouigo.
Iryo sources, who did not provide information or details about the delays, said: “We are aware of the intense interest of citizens and media in the events that took place last year, and therefore we asked Adif to analyze the situation in depth.” and events that occurred during its operations. The other market operator, Renfe, did not value the work carried out by Adif in any way and did not provide data on delays or incidents..
Decrease in service quality
When Spain introduced high speed 30 years ago, Renfe offered luxury service at almost extraordinary prices to travelers who could afford it.. “I believe that the quality of the service has decreased. When the high-speed train started operating, it was running an extraordinary operation; if the train was five minutes late, they would refund the ticket price. Now they have started to extend it, for example at that time,” says Javier San Martín, a logistics expert and professor at OBS Business School. This expert also notes that Renfe initially put great effort into preventive maintenance, especially line inspection, to anticipate any damage that might occur. “Since this service was very expensive, it was outsourced to save costs,” he gives as an example.
Javier Campos, professor of Economics at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and expert in transport economics and project evaluation, thinks that high-speed delays and incidents can occur due to a number of factors. “The apparent increase in demand was foreseeable and the offer put on the table when bidding for rail packages was fully known in advance. Adif must be ultimately responsible and have the capacity to foresee events, In any case, although rail competition is a new phenomenon in Spain and a period of quality adjustment is normalas in other European countries,” develops Campos.
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Spain has invested more than €65,000 million in recent years to build its high-speed network. “In terms of absolute capacity, there is no doubt that the Spanish network is ready to face a greater intensity of use, but it is true that ‘bottlenecks’ occur that require and will require special interventions,” says Javier Fields.
Some AVE lines, such as the lines between Madrid and Seville, are already 30 years old. “The aging of the lines will require new investments. We must also be careful about theft and sabotage, which are an important source of incidents,” says Javier San Martín.