A low-cost operator Ouigo train has been out of service for several days at Córdoba station owing to a final drive fault. This is reportedly the root cause of daily train cancellations on the Madrid-Sevilla and Madrid-Málaga routes until 22 January.
The story broke in the early hours via Vozpópuli. Ouigo has confirmed the fault to Trenvista but stops short of directly linking it to the service reductions, despite the timing aligning perfectly .
Final drive repairs demand towing to Madrid-Fuencarral or Madrid-Cerro Negro depots, but only at 20 km/h. This calls for meticulous planning and coordination with Adif AV to execute the drag during night-time slots .
Once hauled, fixed, and returned to traffic, Ouigo can reinstate full service levels .
That said, the operator told Trenvista that maintenance scheduling tweaks have trimmed the pool of available rakes. As a result, the firm has had to recast its Madrid-Andalucía workings for a fortnight .
To date, Ouigo has stayed mum on the cancellations’ trigger, which hit 7.8% of all planned January diagrams .
In its statement, Ouigo notes this is the first such occurrence in nearly five years of operations.