Electricity has been restored in most of the Iberian peninsula, and so trains are also getting back on the rails. Things seem to be getting back to normal after yesterday’s power outage – but it seems that rail freight will need to wait until tomorrow.
A representative of the Port of Bilbao tells RailFreight.com that there will be no freight trains throughout Tuesday: “We think we will start tomorrow.” Earlier, the expectation was that rail freight would be operational again during the day. It remains unclear if this timeframe is also applicable to other ports or terminals in Iberia.
However, based on currently available information, it seems likely that it is. Not all rail infrastructure is back online yet. In some parts, there is no electricity supply and signalling is not working. At the same time, it remains unclear if these persistent problems also affect important freight corridors.
The power outage stopped trains all around the country on Monday. As of Tuesday morning, the Spanish rail network is operating at “half speed”, writes El País. That mostly concerns passenger rail, however.
Supply chains
Other modes of transport were also heavily affected by the power outage. Airports saw flight delays and an interrupted fuel supply hindered road transportation across Iberia. Supply chains were disrupted – Spain’s major manufacturing industries and supply chains include motor vehicles, food production, as well as chemicals.