SPANISH rail operator Renfe has blocked the sale of all high-speed train tickets between Andalucia and Madrid until December, triggering fears of fresh travel chaos for beleaguered Costa del Sol residents.
The move comes after Wednesday morning’s horror collision between two trains in Toledo province, which killed at least 68 people and has left the entire high-speed line between the capital and the south shut.
Renfe has frozen sales for trips along the corridor until December 13 – although the company insists that does not necessarily mean the line will stay closed that long.
That decision lies with track operator Adif, which has yet to say how long the route will remain out of action.
READ MORE: Madrid rail controllers gave ‘wrong’ orders before deadly Toledo crash, transport minister says
Low-cost operator Ouigo has followed suit by suspending its trains until at least November 2.
The closure is a grim case of deja vu for residents across Andalucia who were left without a high-speed link to Madrid for months earlier this year.
After the Adamuz disaster in Cordoba province on January 18, which killed 46 people, high-speed trains between Madrid and Sevilla did not resume until February 17.
Malaga fared even worse after a landslide on February 4 damaged pylons and a large section of track.
The city’s branch line stayed closed until April 27, cutting the Costa del Sol’s fastest rail link to the capital for more than three months.
READ MORE: Toledo train crash round-up: At least 68 dead in Spain’s worst rail disaster since 2013
There is good news, however, for those needing to travel between Madrid and Andalucia over the coming weeks.
Iberia has capped fares at €99 each way in economy and €149 in business on all its flights between the two regions until November 8.
The airline introduced a similar cap shortly after the Adamuz crash, preventing travellers from being stung by dynamic pricing.
The carrier has also added 520 extra seats to cope with the expected uptick in demand, including 362 on the Madrid-Malaga route and 158 to Sevilla.
It is swapping in larger A321 aircraft and laying on an extra evening flight from Madrid to Malaga, departing at 8pm.
Air Europa is also running one extra daily flight to both Malaga and Sevilla, with scope for up to two more to Sevilla.
Wednesday’s crash between the towns of Los Yebenes and Urda is Spain’s deadliest since 80 people were killed near Santiago de Compostela in 2013.
A Renfe AVE high-speed service collided with an Iryo train, sending four carriages careering off the tracks and down an embankment.
A total of 544 people were on board the two trains – including 397 on the AVE and 146, plus a baby, on the Iryo.
The cause has not been officially confirmed, but transport minister Oscar Puente appeared to blame an ‘inexplicable’ decision by controllers to allow the AVE to proceed at full speed despite a red signal.
Prime minister Pedro Sanchez said it was ‘totally unacceptable’ for ‘a country like Spain’ to suffer two deadly train disasters in the space of ten months.
Click here to read more Spain News from The Olive Press.
