Speed Cut on Madrid–Barcelona High-Speed Line After Track Crack Found

Spanish rail authorities have imposed a temporary speed restriction on part of the high-speed railway linking Madrid and Barcelona after engineers identified a defect on the line.

Transport Minister Óscar Puente said a crack was detected late on Sunday night on a section of track around 110km west of Barcelona, between Alcover and l'Espluga de Francolí in Catalonia. As a precaution, trains using the affected stretch are now operating at significantly reduced speeds.

The announcement comes only days after a deadly high-speed rail collision in southern Spain that claimed 45 lives, and amid ongoing disruption to local rail services in the north-east of the country. Against that backdrop, the latest restriction is the most severe of several measures introduced across the high-speed network in recent days.

Despite the defect, the transport ministry said the fault does not pose a safety risk and confirmed that trains will continue to run over the section. However, the maximum permitted speed has been lowered to 80km/h until further notice.

Under normal conditions, trains on the Madrid–Barcelona route travel at speeds of up to 300km/h, making it one of the busiest and fastest long-distance rail corridors in Spain. The latest restriction follows a series of recent speed reductions on the same line, introduced after drivers reported vibrations and other irregularities. Those earlier limits, which cut speeds to 230km/h on some sections, were lifted after technical inspections.

Elsewhere on the network, parts of the Madrid–Valencia high-speed line have also seen temporary speed limits imposed, with trains restricted to between 160km/h and 200km/h while checks were carried out.

Image: El Pais