Passengers escape Almeria derailment unscathed

A SEVILLA train derailed at night on a bend at El Puche, two kilometres from the Almeria terminus.

No-one was injured but the derailment occurred on a hard-to-access spot on a high embankment and passengers waited two hours to be freed while emergency services dug a pathway to the stationary train. 

They were transferred by bus to Almeria bus station, but the accident also held up the Madrid-Almeria Talgo express. Scheduled to enter Almeria station after the Sevilla train, it stopped in Gador and passengers were ferried by coach to the city.

The derailment was caused by accumulated mud on the line following heavy rain earlier, said Adif, Spain’s track operator. It was the second incident that day, Friday, as the line was blocked from 4.30pm until 8pm while a car became stuck in a pothole caused by torrential rain at the El Puche level crossing.

A crane towed the train to the Almeria terminus next morning and normal services resumed by early afternoon.