A series of accidents on medium distance trains in Madrid have shown the neglect of the central government for the Spanish capital’s basic infrastructure.
Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the president of the Madrid region, promised on social media to do everything she could to protect citizens in the face of the lack of investment by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’ government.
Ayuso, one of Spain’s most popular politicians and a member of the center-right Partido Popular, has been a consistent thorn in the side of the socialist Sánchez since she took the strongest stance of any regional governor to his pandemic restrictions after ousting his party from the regional government.
Her regional government has also asked for an emergency meeting with Sánchez’s new ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, responsible for the upkeep of the train lines that connect the capital with the rest of the region.
This request comes after two derailments occurred in just nine days in the Cercanías-Madrid commuter train network causing light injuries to passengers and disruptions in service in five lines. The last accident also occurred just before Spain’s Constitution Day on December 6th, a public holiday that is also one of the biggest travel days of the year.
According to the regional government, incidents on the regional train lines are not isolated accidents but a generalized problem.
“We are not talking about specific delays or service failures, but incidents that affect user safety,” regional Minister of Housing, Transport and Infrastructure Jorge Rodrigo said.
“Far from being exceptional, it has become a custom,” he said of accidents and disruptions in service.
“You still haven’t invested in this infrastructure,” he added, referring to Sánchez.
The central government is responsible for regional train service and maintenance.
Rodrigo continued:
So far this year, there have been 708 incidents that have affected the railway network and caused serious damage to Madrid citizens. Getting to work or a trip on time has become a lottery for them.
He also said that the regional government has launched a plan to help travelers affected by disruptions on commuter lines, including buses that can be put into use if necessary and reinforcing the service in Metro Line 1.
In the latest major incident, which took place on December 5th, a commuter train derailed just after two-thirty in the afternoon at the entrance to Madrid’s main railway station, Atocha, disrupting services across the network. Injuries, fortunately, were slight with five people suffering mild bruises, although 137 people had to be evacuated from the train.
The week before, another train derailed while leaving the Atocha train station. Several carriages dislodged from the rails of track 4 and fell onto the adjacent track, causing chaos on the Madrid commuter network. Thirty-seven people had to be evacuated from the train.
The week between the two accidents was also marked by several minor incidents and restrictions on train circulation.
“We will do everything necessary to protect the people of Madrid from Sánchez’s lack of concern for the Cercanías [commuter trains],” Ayuso pledged on social media.
Ayuso’s party has blamed the problems on the socialist government’s failure to implement the transportation plan of the last government led by the PP under former prime minister Mariano Rajoy. Before it was toppled by a no-confidence vote in 2018, Rajoy’s government had approved a plan to make improvements to medium distance trains throughout the country.