High Speed Train network in Catalonia collapsed this morning
A theft of a fibre optic cable at about 7am this morning caused the absolute paralysation of the High Speed Trains’ service in Catalonia. 40 trains and 13,000 passengers all over the territory were affected. The breakdown started in the route between Figueres, in the north of Catalonia and Barcelona and it consequently affected the whole network. The only trains running from early morning are those between Lleida, in the east of Catalonia and Camp de Tarragona, in the south. Alternative routes and extra buses have been added to guarantee the mobility of these citizens and Renfe, the Spanish public trains’ operator, expects to normalise the system during the day by low-speed trains. This serious incident is to be added to a long list of problems which have occurred in this network during the last decade mainly due to the lack of investment in infrastructure by the Spanish Government.