Puente after confirming that the Madrid-Galicia AVE train remains suspended: "We don't have the capacity" for an alternative bus service.
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The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility , Óscar Puente , has pointed out that currently " there are not enough buses available to be contracted" in order to establish an alternative road service to the High Speed line between Madrid and Galicia , and has added that his ministry does not have the necessary capacity to organize it either.
Puente has responded on the social network X to demands to implement an alternative bus service to cover the high-speed route connecting Madrid with Galicia , which has been interrupted since last Thursday.
The Transport Minister recalled that, on the first day of the suspension of rail traffic , Adif launched an alternative bus service, but the road was closed , which, in his words, " is even more detrimental to the passengers who are left stranded." Puente warned that this situation could be repeated if the bus service is reactivated.
The minister stressed that the problem is not replacing one or more trains with buses, but rather serving the " thousands of people " who use this route.
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To meet this demand, he explained, would require a " large-scale and complex operation that we do not have," reiterating that " there are not enough buses ready to be contracted, nor do we have the necessary capacity."
Puente also emphasized that "there are private road transport companies that already offer this type of service, even within the VAC (long-distance bus service) managed by the Ministry ."
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Shortly before, the minister had also confirmed on X that high-speed service between Madrid and Galicia would not be restored today either. In that same statement, Puente expressed his surprise that, in similar circumstances, the roads remained open. "We respect the decisions of civil protection , although we are surprised that in similar situations the roads remain open, despite the obvious risk to people's safety ," he concluded.
The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility , Óscar Puente , has pointed out that currently " there are not enough buses available to be contracted" in order to establish an alternative road service to the High Speed line between Madrid and Galicia , and has added that his ministry does not have the necessary capacity to organize it either.
El Confidencial