Malaga province farmers left without return train after travelling to Madrid for protest

The protest has also been suspended following the accident, according to the Asaja Málaga association, which has confirmed that all its farmers who had travelled to the capital are safe and well.

The organisation said that some participants were already in Madrid when they learnt of the protest's suspension, while others were still on various trains in Castilla-La Mancha due to the suspension of the high-speed rail services between Andalucía and Madrid.

Asaja Málaga mourns the victims, the number of which has already reached 46, and extends its condolences to their families and loved ones.

Among those who managed to complete the journey was Joaquín Becerra from Ronda, who boarded an AVE train in Antequera at around 6am with some colleagues. His plan was to attend the protest and then return to the province. "We're now trying to work out how to get back down," he told Sur.

During the journey, he recalled, his convoy came to a halt for between five and ten minutes near Urda, although at the time he did not know what was happening. They then set off again and arrived in Madrid slightly later than scheduled. "I think they diverted us onto another route," he said.

It was only when he heard the news and spoke to his colleagues that he began to realise the gravity of what had happened. What he had initially experienced as a mere delay during the journey took on a whole new dimension. As he learnt more details, his bewilderment gave way to unease: "It's hard to take that in and come to terms with it."

Other farmers who were on their way to Madrid were unable to reach their destination. According to the latest information Becerra had received at the time of the conversation, more than 50 colleagues of his were stranded in Puertollano after their train had reversed. "That's the last I've heard," he said.

The statement from Asaja Málaga confirms that there are farmers on various trains in Castilla-La Mancha, although it does not specify their number or the locations where they are currently situated.

For those who were already in Madrid, the immediate concern was to find an alternative way home. Becerra said that he had received the cancellation notice but had not yet been offered a specific alternative means of transport. One of his colleagues had taken it upon himself to look for solutions and among the possibilities they were considering was hiring a car.

"We don't know anything," Becerra said. He is calling for an official alternative, such as a bus service, so that they could return to Malaga without having to organise the entire journey themselves.

Behind the protest in Madrid were several organisations: Asaja, COAG and Unión de Uniones. They are calling for measures to guarantee the profitability of farms and the future of the countryside, with demands addressing the rise in production costs and the lack of prices high enough to remunerate the work of farmers and livestock breeders.

The Toledo tragedy has brought the protest to a halt, while participants from Malaga remain concerned about their colleagues and how to return home. "It leaves you speechless," Becerra said.

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