High-speed rail between Madrid and Sevilla resumes after overnight fire and power outage

On Tuesday evening, a fallen high-voltage power cable ignited a fire on railway tracks near Seville, shutting down Spain’s Madrid–Seville high-speed line and causing widespread disruption across Andalusia. Service was fully restored by Wednesday morning after overnight repairs.

What happened

At about 19:47 on 23 June, an Endesa medium/high voltage cable dropped onto Adif’s overhead catenary lines at La Rinconada, Sevilla. The incident caused a loss of electrical supply, significant damage to the catenary, and a track-side fire that firefighters had to extinguish. The exact cause remains unknown.

Ripple effects across the network

The outage halted all high-speed traffic between Sevilla–Santa Justa and Guadajoz (standard gauge) and between Sevilla–Santa Justa and Brenes (conventional gauge). Affected routes included the Madrid–Sevilla AVE, Sevilla–Málaga, Sevilla–Córdoba, Media Distancia services, and the Cercanías network around the Andalusian capital. Operators Renfe and Iryo reported delays and cancellations.

“All trains in circulation have been able to reach nearby stations, except for one train that required an on-track transfer to evacuate passengers. Given the hour and the estimated duration of repair work, we have decided to suspend the last scheduled trains for today and give certainty to travellers.”

Travellers at Madrid’s Atocha station waited for updates, while a Madrid–Huelva service remained stranded in Córdoba with passengers kept inside for hours. At Villanueva de Córdoba, some were allowed to disembark to get water.

Passenger measures

Renfe activated exceptional free ticket changes and refunds for trains on the Madrid–Sevilla high-speed line to minimise disruption for travellers.

Overnight repair effort

Adif and Endesa teams worked against the clock through the night, removing the fallen cable and repairing the catenary under strict safety protocols.

Service restoration

Early on Wednesday morning, at 06:15, Adif announced that the infrastructure was again available for railway operators.

“Once the incident on the catenary is resolved, Adif makes the infrastructure available to railway companies.”

Shortly after, Renfe confirmed that high-speed, Media Distancia, and Cercanías services had returned to normal operation, ending a nearly 12-hour suspension.