ANDhe report of Adif as a result of the Gavà incident that left the R2 service seriously altered south last May ruled out that the cause was lightning and attributed it to the breakage of a catenary wire Yet the vandalization, due to theft, of the system protection of the facilities.
Apparently, the contact wire of the catenary touched a metal signal and caused an electrical overload that affected the enclave panel due to this lack of protection, according to the railway infrastructure management entity. Initially, Adif and the Ministry of Transport had suggested that the cause of the incident could be lightning.
Adif points out that the breakage of a wire in the catenary is not important and does not usually have an impact on the railway service, especially if it is on a remote track, as was the case in this case. However, he points out that bad luck caused the cable to touch a metal signal and from there the rest of the wiring to the interlock box overheated.
Absence of a piece
The breakage of the catenary wire was caused by the absence of a piece for which Adif cannot specify the reason, as it could be due to the vibration caused by the passage of trains, due to meteorological factors or problems in its assembly. Without this part, overheating occurred which caused degradation.
Another factor that was decisive is that the ground outlets that must prevent surges over the enclave that lead to a fire, as happened in May, were “vandalized” when a theft occurred that could not be automatically detected four days before the fire. . The last review occurred on April 26 and the incident occurred on May 1.
Three weeks of damage
As a result of the fire, the circulation of the R2 south was seriously affected and for some three weeks they circulated, progressively, a maximum of four trains per hour and felt until the service could be restored on May 20.
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In the area, work lasted for 18 days to analyze the damage and repair the infrastructure. In addition to repairing the contact wire, eight kilometers of cable, among others, were replaced.
Meanwhile, Adif pointed out that lightning could have caused the incident although the Servei Meteorològic de Catalunya certified that on May 1 there had been no lightning strikes in the area near the breakdown.