High-speed line between Madrid and Barcelona halted after AVE train fire near Ricla, Zaragoza

Fire on an AVE near Ricla

Renfe said an AVE train that left Madrid Puerta de Atocha at 14:27 for Figueres had a fire at about 16:05 near Ricla, in Zaragoza province. Renfe reported 283 passengers on board, and LaSexta and Europa Press carried the same figure. The Government of Aragón gave a different count of 380 passengers, a number also repeated by La Razón, 20 minutos and El Confidencial. Firefighters from the Diputación Provincial de Zaragoza (DPZ) said that when they arrived the 380 passengers had already been evacuated and that no one had suffered personal injury. The sources agree that one woman needed medical assistance for dizziness.

The sources also disagree about where the fire was. Renfe, as reported by LaSexta, described a minor fire in the rear cabin of the train. The DPZ said the flames had affected the leading power car and the nearest part of the following carriage. Firefighters were still working to put the fire out when the DPZ issued its update.

Line halted in both directions

Rail traffic on the Madrid-Barcelona high-speed line was interrupted in both directions, and the overhead power supply was cut. Europa Press reported that trains were held at stations along the route and that afternoon departures were cancelled. Adif posted on X about the stoppage.

Due to a fault in a train between Ricla and Plasencia de Jalón, high-speed circulation between Barcelona and Madrid is interrupted.

The extent of the closure is also described differently. El Periódico reported that Renfe said the line was cut between Calatayud and Zaragoza, while Adif's wording places the stoppage between Ricla and Plasencia de Jalón. La Razón noted that the incident came during the return travel of the Día de la Hispanidad bridge weekend, when many passengers were already on the move.

Passenger assistance and unofficial accounts

Renfe said it had activated assistance for affected travellers, including free ticket changes and free refunds. El Periódico reported that passengers had shared videos on social media showing flames in the rear carriage and evacuated passengers standing beside the tracks. At the time of that report, El Periódico said, neither Renfe nor Adif had officially confirmed the fire. Those videos are the only visual record cited in the coverage, and their timing and location have not been independently confirmed in the articles.

The first official accounts came from Renfe, the Government of Aragón and the DPZ. Each gave a different passenger count, so the 283 and 380 figures should be read as competing reports rather than a single number.

Timeline of the afternoon

The sequence below is based on the times given by Renfe and the Aragón reports.

The line stayed closed in both directions while crews dealt with the fire and the power supply remained off. None of the articles reported when service would resume.