A technical issue in Metro Bilbao, which caused significant delays across the entire network on Tuesday, has been resolved. The intense and anomalous temperatures led to a critical system failure, impacting thousands of users.
The problem, known as 'false occupation', stemmed from the overheating of rails. Under extreme heat, the automatic system regulating the distance between trains malfunctioned, mistakenly identifying occupied track sections as free. This forced train drivers to halt services for safety, consequently slowing down operations throughout the network.
“"Due to technical causes, delays throughout the network. We apologize for the inconvenience."
This technical fault, particularly affecting outdoor track sections, also caused a similar disruption last Sunday between Sopela and Urduliz when temperatures soared above 40 degrees Celsius.
Suburban sources reported surface track temperatures reaching up to 60 degrees Celsius, enough to disrupt the system. While this issue is uncommon, it is expected to be resolved with the network's modernization and new trains, which will employ more advanced technological means instead of automatic sensors.
Although the 'false occupation' issue is resolved within minutes, its effects can linger, especially on a high-frequency metro system. Metro Bilbao anticipates that service frequencies will gradually return to normal.
