After almost three and half months with no direct high-speed prepare connection between the Spanish capital and the Costa del Sol metropolis, a date has lastly been set for the road to completely resume.
Adif (Spain’s Railway Infrastructure Supervisor) has introduced that it’s going to absolutely restore the direct high-speed rail service from subsequent Thursday April thirtieth, which had been suspended between Málaga and Antequera on account of crucial repairs on the road.
Trains will resume direct service between Málaga and Madrid beginning at noon on April thirtieth, simply at some point earlier than the Might financial institution vacation weekend.
The issues on the road started again in January with the Amaduz prepare collision, throughout which 46 folks misplaced their lives. The incident compelled all rail connections between Madrid and Andalusia to be suspended.
Then in February, a retaining wall close to Álora collapsed inflicting landslides triggered by heavy rains.
Though high-speed rail service to Andalusia was restored slightly below two weeks later, the part between Málaga and Antequera remained beneath building, which means that there was no direct service between Madrid and the coastal metropolis.
This led to the suspension of companies by Iryo and Ouigo, whereas Renfe supplied a rail alternative bus service as an alternative.
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The work to restore the harm to the road has been described as “extremely complicated and in depth.”
Along with re-constructing the part of wall that collapsed, consultants additionally really helpful eradicating a good portion of the remaining construction, requiring the removing of over 200,000 cubic metres of earth.
{An electrical} set up additionally needed to be repaired, which was broken by the collapse.
Seventy-five folks labored in 24-hour a day to attempt to get the road open as shortly as attainable.
“If there are not any unexpected exterior elements,” Adif confirms that the reopening will go forward and repair will resume in time for the Might financial institution vacation. This provides staff one week left to complete all of the final particulars.
READ ALSO: ‘Not perfect, but safe’: PM defends Spanish rail after deadly accidents
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Through the building venture, Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente posted a number of pictures and movies on social media to point out the extent and scale of the work that had be carried out and to justify the delay in reopening the road.
Aquí una superposición de ortofotos nos permite ver la magnitud del área de trabajo. https://t.co/wWY6Zqu6YI pic.twitter.com/oD659psKYr
— Óscar Puente (@oscar_puente_) April 21, 2026
All through this era, rail operators continued to attempt to promote tickets, however needed to refund them when it was clear the road was not going to reopen for some time. The final time was on April eighth, when Ouigo and Iryo started promoting tickets for April twenty seventh, as a result of that was the date Adif had talked about earlier, regardless that its president Pedro Marco de la Peña had mentioned “not earlier than” that date.
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The disruption of the high-speed rail line between Madrid and Málaga has additionally prompted a number of political disputes in latest weeks.
The Andalusian regional authorities of Juanma Moreno denounced the financial losses Málaga would endure from not having the ability to obtain guests by direct prepare.
Adelante Andalucía additionally joined the complaints, speaking of discriminatory remedy and arguing that sooner timelines would have been utilized in Catalonia had an identical state of affairs occurred there. Puente described the controversy as “absurd and false”.
Spanish far-right get together Vox additionally joined within the debate and simply this week accused Puente of making use of double requirements, arguing that the works would have been finished sooner if the incident had occurred in Catalonia. Puente retorted by saying that the thought was “nonsense”.
