The Community of Madrid has held the Government of Spain responsible for the chaos recorded in the Cercanías service, following a signaling breakdown at Atocha station. The incident, which lasted for almost five hours during peak time, affected six lines: C-2, C-3, C-4, C-7, C-8, and C-10.
For the regional Executive, this event highlights the lack of investment and the general deterioration of the railway system in Madrid. The statements were made at the press conference following the Governing Council, after a morning marked by delays and service alterations in several of the region's main corridors.
“"What happened in Atocha is the result of the neglect of a Government that does not address the real needs of railway transport in Madrid."
The Regional Minister of Housing, Transport, and Infrastructure for the Community of Madrid directly blamed the Ministry of Transport, arguing that this is not an isolated incident, but a sustained problem of management and infrastructure. He accused the central Executive of being more concerned with "covering up its corruption" than with investing in the service used daily by thousands of Madrid residents.
The breakdown had a direct impact on regional mobility, causing "one hundred percent chaos in Madrid's Cercanías railway system." The regional Government once again criticized the state of a network that has been at the center of political confrontation between the Puerta del Sol and the Ministry of Transport for months.
It was emphasized that the underlying problem is the absence of necessary investments to maintain and modernize the network. The need for profound change in both transport policies and infrastructure planning was defended, as the current service does not meet the demands of a region like Madrid or the volume of users who depend on Cercanías every day. Last year, more than 1,500 incidents were recorded on the network.
