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Date Published: 04/01/2023

ARCHIVED - Murcia-Madrid AVE train delayed by passenger who refused to wear facemask

ARCHIVED ARTICLE -

It is still compulsory by law to wear a facemask on trains and buses in Spain

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Murcia-Madrid AVE train delayed by passenger who refused to wear facemask

The newly opened high-speed AVE train from Murcia to Madrid was delayed by half an hour this Tuesday, January 3, after a passenger point-blank refused to wear a facemask, forcing train staff to call in the police.

The train in question was the 1.55pm service from Murcia’s Estación del Carmen to the Spanish capital. The expected arrival time in Madrid’s Chamartín station was at 4.40pm but the train arrived half an hour late.

According to eyewitnesses, the other passengers in the carriage told the man to wear a mask, but he refused and his attitude became more aggressive. Eventually, he was kicked off the train at Elche station in Alicante province and handed over to the officers on duty there.

The standing policy of Spanish railway operator Renfe is to refund the price of a ticket for any AVE train that is more than half an hour late.

It is still compulsory to wear a face mask on public transport in Spain, a rule that health authorities are unlikely to even discuss removing until Easter 2023.

Image: Renfe

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