High-speed rail resumes after 14-week disruption

SPANISH TRANSPORT UPDATE: HIGH-SPEED RAIL SERVICE TO RESTORE AND AIRPORT CLOSURES Spain's high-speed rail connection between Madrid and Málaga will fully resume on April 30 at noon, ending nearly three and a half months of disruption that began with a January derailment near Adamuz and was compounded by a retaining wall collapse at Álora on February 4 caused by intense rainfall. Adif, the state railway infrastructure company, announced that the service will be operational one day before the May Day long weekend, allowing travelers to use direct trains during what is expected to be a period of high demand between the two cities. During the closure, only Renfe operated limited services using an alternative bus route between Madrid and Antequera, while Iryo and Ouigo suspended their operations entirely, with Iryo placing its 40 Málaga employees on temporary layoffs tied to the reopening. The repair work at Álora has been described by Adif as a project of "great complexity and magnitude," requiring the removal of more than 200,000 cubic meters of earth equivalent to approximately 28 football fields or 80 Olympic swimming pools. The initial collapse involved a 60-meter section of a retaining wall, but subsequent technical analysis determined that much of the remaining structure also needed to be demolished due to its compromised condition. Workers constructed a new 325-meter-long, 15.5-meter-high pilot wall anchored at the base of a 540-meter-long, 35-meter-high cutting, while also securing a high-voltage tower that supplied power to the catenary system. Approximately 75 workers in 24-hour shifts and 25 machines were deployed throughout the project, and officials stated the railway would initially operate on one track before restoring full double-track service by July. Meanwhile, Santiago-Rosalia de Castro airport near Santiago de Compostela will close for five weeks from April 23 to May 27 for runway resurfacing work, affecting flights operated by British Airways, Ryanair, and Vueling during the May half-term period. The airport, the busiest in Galicia and second-busiest in northern Spain, will be closed to all air traffic during this time. Additionally, ground staff strikes continue to cause disruption at 12 major Spanish airports including Barcelona, Madrid, Alicante, Palma, Ibiza, Malaga, and the Canary Islands, with partial work stoppages occurring on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays during morning, afternoon, and late-night time slots over an ongoing pay dispute between Groundforce and Menzies employees and airport operator Aena.