Landslide in tunnel on high-speed railway line between Malaga and Cordoba sparks diversions and delays

A landslide of rubble inside the high-speed railway tunnel in Valle de Abdalajís, between Álora and Gobantes, forced a railway traffic diversion on Tuesday, 22 July, causing delays on the Malaga-Cordoba line.

State rail infrastructure company Adif said that the incident was caused by hydraulic pressure of the aquifer located close to the rail tracks. However, sources assured that the structure of the tunnel has not been affected and safety has not been compromised.

In order to reorganise traffic, trains had been diverted to the alternative track, at least until the main one can be made operational again - a reopening for which no date has been announced yet.

This diversion, however, has caused delays of about ten minutes per train. Three companies operate on that line - Renfe, Iryo and Ouigo - which makes assessing the number of trains affected difficult.

This incident contributes to the already existing tension between the central government (headed by left-wing party PSOE) and local councillors from the right-wing PP party. Valle Abdalajís mayor Virginia Romero expressed her frustration with the lack of official information from the Ministry of Transport. "The only thing we know is that there has been a landslide in the tunnel, but nobody has communicated anything officially. It worries me greatly that this will add to the problems the municipality is already facing," she said, alluding to the water supply issues.

General secretary of the PP in Malaga José Ramón Carmona urged minister of transport Óscar Puente to provide more information about the incident. In addition, he called for more attention to that particular train line, which has suffered more than one incident. Ramón Carmona warned that possible water leaks in this crucial tunnel, potentially caused by the underground aquifer it runs over, could aggravate the already delicate situation in the municipality.