Passengers hit by severe turbulence – on train that’s just had a £3,475,000,000 upgrade
'I've never seen anything like it.'
Passengers spent three hours violently ‘bouncing’ as their brand-new train shook like a train suffering turbulence.
One passenger captured the incident on a £3,475,000,000 high-speed rail line linking Madrid with Gijón 300 miles away in Spain’s northwest this month.
‘We were bouncing’, Alex Sanchez, who recorded the clip, said on X. ‘I hope that @Renfe, [Tranport Minister] @oscar_puente_, or someone, gives us an explanation to the passengers of AVE 05721.’
The high-speed line, including Europe’s seventh-longest rail tunnel, only opened last November after 20 years under construction.
With trains reaching up to 170 miles per hour in parts, it’s cut distances and travel times by increasing speed and straightening tracks.
A complex system of gauges to allow older models to continue operating the route while high-speed trains switch between gauges at different sections.
The distance from Leon to Oviedo alone has been reduced by 23 miles, but this is exactly the section of track where passengers reported turbulence.
‘From the Leon switch to Oviedo, we have been bouncing’, Alex said of the incident on June 14.
‘I also hope that for security, it is reviewed. I come every week and I’ve never seen anything like it.’
Renfe, Spain’s state-owned railway company that operates the high-speed trains, blamed it on the train wagon.
The company had recently launched the model, which is not operating or being received as well as expected.
Responding to Alex, a spokesperson said: ‘We have immobilised the train to analyse the cause of this anomaly and report the incident to the manufacturer.
‘We will keep you informed once the cause is communicated to us.
‘We reiterate our apologies.’
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