The Madrid-Sevilla high-speed railway will reopen within 10 days of receiving judicial permission to begin repairs, it has been announced.

It follows last Wednesday’s catastrophic collision near Urda that has left 69 people dead.

Transport Minister Oscar Puente said on Tuesday that permission to start repairs had been requested after teams finished removing the wrecked trains from the tracks.

Although just over 40 metres of railway suffered damage, repair work will cover approximately 400 metres as a precaution.

Services will initially operate at reduced frequencies until the deployment of the ERTMS Level 2 signalling system and an extraordinary review of the line’s safety systems are completed.

Operators will try to preserve passenger capacity by running more services with two trainsets coupled together.

The announcement followed Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, which approved a €30million support package for victims of the collision.

It includes direct assistance supplementing compensation and a system of advance payments against civil liability compensation, following the model used after the Adamuz disaster.

Puente said the assistance and advances would be non-repayable, exempt from personal income tax and compatible with other benefits.

The announced amounts are €72,121 per death and between €2,400 and €84,141 for injuries.

Affected passengers’ sick leave will be treated as resulting from a workplace accident from the first day, providing enhanced cover. Pensions will also be calculated on that basis where it produces a more favourable outcome.

‘The victims must not wait,’ Puente said.

He also announced an immediate programme of railway improvements covering technology, control procedures, safety and staffing.

The government approved powers to limit prices for alternative transport during emergencies, aiming to prevent excessive increases when rail services are disrupted.

Puente said some fares had risen eightfold or ninefold and criticised the earlier parliamentary rejection of similar measures, blaming votes from the PP, Junts and Vox.

He also described comments by Andalucia president Juanma Moreno, who said he would not currently travel on the AVE, as ‘irresponsible’.

Separately, Puente said no decision had been taken on whether the Madrid–Barcelona high-speed line would close during planned upgrades.

The government’s preference was to explore keeping services running alongside the work, he said, although the advantages and disadvantages would need to be assessed.