The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Oscar Puentehopes that in two weeks the High Speed line between Madrid and Valencia will be operational again. To restore the Cercanías service we will have to wait longer because the situation is more serious. “We are talking about practically the disappearance of three of the five lines in Valencia“, he assured.
There are two tunnels affected. While the situation in Torrent is “reasonably good” and no damage has occurred “beyond the flood”, in Chiva the situation is different. As indicated by the minister in an interview in The Hour of 1 of TVE, the damage is more serious in the Chiva tunnel and it will have to be completely rebuiltsome work that will take “between two and three weeks.”
On the roads the condition is also “tremendously complicated.” Puente has indicated that the Government has already approved 25 million euros to begin “urgently” restoring the A7, which is closed and impossible to travel, and it is expected that in 10 or 12 days it can be opened to traffic at a limited speed. yes that V-31 has already reopened in both directions this morning and the A3 is only open for emergency services, although you have to drive “essing” due to the damage.
Are 80 kilometers of the state’s highway network affected for the DANAwith damages of “one nature or another.” Puente has once again urged the population not to move because the roads that are being reopened are for emergency services. “We need the roads for supplies to pass.”
Alternative plan for Cercanías
Line C3 suffers damage in 45 kilometers of its 90 route, the same happens in 32 kilometers of the C2 road and in 8 km of the C1, as reported by the minister. “They are completely destroyed in many places and It’s going to take us months to get them back up and running.“he insists.
For this reason, the ministry is working on alternative transportation plans while all roads are cleared and the railroad layouts are rehabilitated. “Plans that we cannot consider right now because alternative routes, roads, are not operational“. The head of Transport has described the situation as “an unprecedented catastrophe.”