Firefighters warn wall could collapse on Malaga Cercanías train line
Spain's rail infrastructure company claims there is no risk at the moment and the short-distance line remains open
Residents of the Arroyo de la Miel district in Benalmádena and firefighters have warned of the risk of a wall collapsing across the tracks of the Costa del Sol Cercanías line.
The state rail infrastructure company, however, says that engineers have evaluated the risk and decided that the line can remain open.
The succession of railway accidents in Spain in recent weeks has been keeping everyone on tenterhooks. While the high-speed Andalusian line remains closed until next week at least, the provincial short-distance line has also been in the spotlight for several days now.
Videos on social media have been raising awareness to a crack of considerable size in a wall that extends along the C1 line as it passes through Benalmádena. Suspicions grew larger once the fire brigade also showed concern.
After seeing the crack in a video, firefighters went to the location of the wall and asked Adif (Spain's rail infrastructure company) to rapidly take measures.
30
metres is the approximate length of the crack in the wall next to the Cercanías de la Costa tracks
Benalmádena town hall has said that the firefighters cannot assess how big the risk is because the wall is state property. "Adif has been asked to check it, but we don't know if there's a risk," municipal sources stated.
SUR also went to the area to report on the state of the wall. Photos taken from Calle Medina Azahara show approximately 30-metre-long cracks in the wall, right next to the overpass that spans the railway tracks between Calle Alhambra and Calle El Pinar.
A pipe belonging to the Acosol water company has burst there on at least two occasions.
Adif sees no danger
The wall is located in an area of Arroyo de la Miel with a high concentration of houses, a school, a secondary school and an industrial area. After crossing this part of the route, the track goes underground to Arroyo de la Miel station, right under a playground and the promenade in Medina Azahara and Avenida de la Constitución.
Adif has stated that maintenance technicians are monitoring the crack. During the visit, SUR spoke to several Adif engineers, who said that, for the moment, the C1 line remains "fully operational" as there is no risk of the wall collapsing.
