The mayors asked three months ago to clean the track of the 'train from hell' of weeds

• Testimony A passenger on the train trapped by the Bejís fire, to the driver: "Please, do something, get us out of here"

• Investigation Why didn't anyone stop the train going to hell?

The train track that crosses the region of Alto Palancia, now famous, and which is one of the main communications between

and

, has accumulated several misfortunes related to fire.

This Tuesday, in the midst of the raging fire that forced the evacuation of municipalities such as

or

, a regional train left at 2:22 p.m. from the North station in Valencia and when it passed the

station , a few meters away, it entered the middle of the fire.

The facts, which are being investigated by the Judicial Police of the

, have sparked a strong controversy about the search for culprits.

However, there would be previous responsibilities: this section of road has suffered three fires in just four months and no measures have been taken in order to ensure the environment.

As explained by the affected mayors, in the month of May this railway structure already suffered a serious fire.

It occurred in an area next to the train tracks that cover the Valencia-Teruel-Zaragoza line and the Valencia-Caudiel Cercanías line, between the towns of

and

.

Two more outbreaks were later located, also in the vicinity of the train track.

In total, four foci were worked on in parallel.

Just a few weeks ago, in the town of

, another fire on the train tracks seriously affected the municipality itself, as it forced the authorities to evict part of the population.

It is a section that goes uphill and, according to the mayors,

that have caused several fire attempts.

In the case of the Caudiel fire, a forest fire declared in Viver extended to the municipality of Caudiel, where the focus was with greater force.

After six in the afternoon of June 17, emergencies decided to vacate several homes near the fire and proceeded to confine the population of Caudiel as a protective measure.

The mayors of this inland region, such as the

, from Caudiel, explain that "maintenance is not adequate on the sides of the tracks."

Some sleepers that despite being made of concrete, see how nature is getting closer and "this dry undergrowth with the sparks from the trains and the heat, are the perfect combination for there to be fires".

In fact, the mayors estimate that "there should be a clearance of 70 meters on each side, according to safety regulations", which would mean that "if there is, in addition,

between the train track , it would be a natural firebreaks.

The mayors of the affected municipalities do not explain "what could have happened so that they let a direct train to hell circulate," asks

, mayor of Pina and with one of her neighbors hospitalized for burns.

Adif had no emergency notices

On the evolution of the investigation, sources from Adif explained this Thursday to this newspaper that they continue "without being able to enter the area, which is perimeter" and have announced an investigation to see what happened.

However, from the public company it is noted that

, which is why rail traffic was kept open in the area.

Not in vain, they allege that the previous train of this unique line, the one at 12:13, passed without any problem.

According to Adif's security protocol, any warning requires traffic to be cut off, either from Renfe, from another operator, from emergencies or from the fire department, "but until the driver's call, we were unaware of the situation," they insist.

The president of the Generalitat,

announced yesterday that he had commissioned a report from the fire command post that he will send to the judge who is conducting the investigation, who is already taking statements from the train passengers.

Later, the head of the Consell has promised to make that report public.

Meanwhile, the

has requested the appearance in an extraordinary session of the Congress of the Minister of Transport, Raquel Sánchez, to answer a battery of questions about why the train left Valencia, if the cut of the track was communicated by the fire or whether or not the train driver was traveling with an inspector.

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