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More than 2,000 rail passengers were left stranded for hours across Andalucía this week after a fresh bout of delays and breakdowns hit high-speed AVE services. The latest disruption, which took place on Wednesday August 6, has sparked a furious response from regional officials who say the situation is damaging tourism and tarnishing the region’s image.

 

The incident, caused by a power line failure between Majarabique and Santa Justa station in Seville, affected nine trains in total, five long-distance services and four medium-distance routes. Some passengers were stuck inside carriages for up to ten hours, with many needing to be evacuated and even treated for anxiety and stress at health centres.

 

The crisis has been described by the Regional Minister for the Presidency, Antonio Sanz, as “outrageous”. Speaking in interviews with Spanish media, he criticised the central government for what he called “a lack of investment and a lack of response” that is leaving Andalucians fed up.

 

“People are tired and fed up with the lack of a response to this railway chaos,” Sanz said. “It’s every week now - if it’s not a breakdown, it’s something else. It’s turned train travel into a life-threatening situation.”

 

Train services between Seville and destinations including Madrid, Córdoba and Huelva were suspended on Tuesday evening. Adif, the railway infrastructure manager, declared the incident resolved at 5.18am on Wednesday morning. Renfe also confirmed that services had resumed.

 

This comes on the heels of another major delay on Tuesday August 5, when a broken-down train on the Madrid-Andalucía high-speed line between Puertollano and Brazatortas caused long hold-ups. One Ouigo train from Málaga arrived in Madrid nearly three hours late, while other services run by Renfe and Iryo were also delayed by over an hour.

 

The continued problems have prompted strong words from Andalucian officials. Regional Minister for Development, Rocío Díaz, said more than 2,000 passengers were “trapped on trains” on Tuesday alone, and criticised the collapse of what she described as once “a reliable and efficient system”.

 

Meanwhile, Carolina España, Regional Minister of Economy and spokesperson for the Andalucian Government, called the situation “absolute madness” and said the region could not afford to show such a “regrettable image” during the busy summer holiday season.

 

“The AVE was the jewel in the crown, and they’re derailing it,” she said. “We are seeing trains stopped in the middle of nowhere, no air conditioning, people lying outside. It puts people off choosing rail travel.”

 

She called on Spain’s Transport Minister Óscar Puente to “stop tweeting and start fixing this” and urged First Vice President María Jesús Montero to take responsibility and fund urgent improvements.

 

With Spain relying heavily on tourism and Andalucía one of the country's top destinations, local leaders say the damage being caused by continued train failures is now both economic and reputational - and action is needed fast.

 

 

Image: Alex Quezada/Unsplash