Passengers on a high-speed train were forced to evacuate inside a tunnel in Barcelona on Tuesday evening after an electrical fault left the convoy stranded between the city’s major Sants and La Sagrera stations.

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The incident occurred due to a failure in the rail infrastructure near the burgeoning La Sagrera station, a key component of Barcelona’s future transport network. The train, which was travelling through the critical underground link connecting it to Barcelona Sants, the city’s primary rail hub, came to a complete stop within the tunnel.

Spain’s national rail infrastructure manager, Adif (Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias), confirmed the situation in a statement. Their report detailed the evacuation, which proceeded with the assistance of the fire brigade, the Bombers de la Generalitat de Catalunya.

Coordinated Emergency Response

In a crucial safety measure, firefighters requested a complete cut of the electrical supply to the line to ensure a safe passage for passengers leaving the train. Adif stated that this power cut was essential while the evacuation was in progress.

The disruption primarily affected Spain’s high-speed rail services (AVE), which rely on the Sants-Sagrera corridor to connect Barcelona with the rest of the country and France. As a result of the blockage, high-speed traffic was temporarily rerouted onto a single track between the two stations, causing inevitable delays for other services on the line.

However, Adif sources clarified that the city’s Rodalies commuter rail services were not affected by the electrical fault, as they operate on a separate system. By approximately 9:25 PM, normal service frequency was being restored, as reported by El Periódico.

The incident highlights the importance of the infrastructure around La Sagrera, a station undergoing a multi-billion euro transformation into one of Europe’s largest intermodal transport hubs. The city has ambitious plans for the area, with Mayor Jaume Collboni recently unveiling a €260 million project to create a vast green urban park above the new railway lines.

This technical failure adds to a list of recent incidents affecting the city’s transport and civil infrastructure. Issues ranging from a controlled gas leak on a freight train to a fire at an allegedly obsolete police station in Ciutat Vella have drawn attention to Barcelona’s maintenance and modernisation challenges. Even the city’s main hub at Sants has faced problems, including a recent internal ticket fraud scheme involving its staff.

For now, evacuated passengers have been safely assisted out of the tunnel, and Adif is working to fully normalise high-speed services through Barcelona’s vital artery.