An expert report estimates at 879,665.62 euros the cost of repairing the cracks detected in at least 42 homes in l"Horta and Artesa de Lleida, in an area close to the Rufea bypass. The report establishes a correlation between the damages observed in the properties and the vibrations caused by the passage of trains through this railway infrastructure.
The study was commissioned by the neighbors to architect Pau Gabarra and was publicly presented yesterday at the Serrallarga premises, in the Vallcalent area. The document is the result of several months of measurements of train vibrations and of the analysis of the damages appeared in the affected houses.
Dwellings situated next to the railway line
The 42 analyzed homes are located between 100 and 500 meters away from the train track. The distribution by zones includes 13 properties in the Empresseguera area, 11 in Torres de Sanui, 7 in La Mariola, 6 in Vallcalent, 1 in Rufea and 4 in the Vinatesa and Artesa de Lleida area.
The report indicates that the buildings closest to the road show more evident or more developed pathological manifestations than those located at greater distances. It also states that cracks and other damages vary depending on the level of maintenance and conservation of the constructions.
The expert report links the vibrations with the evolution of the cracks
The document concludes that the vibrations generated by the passage of trains reach the inspected homes and produce an appreciable physical response in their most sensitive elements. It also adds that the presence of perceptible vibrations coinciding with the passage of trains through the nearby high-speed railway infrastructure has been directly verified, with movements in certain light elements of the buildings.
The expert report considers that the vibrations associated with railway traffic are a technically compatible and potentially relevant factor in the appearance, reopening or evolution of certain fissures and cracks present in the inspected houses, especially in elements with greater sensitivity to repetitive deformations.
The neighbors prepare the claim
The lawyer for the affected residents, Josep Maria Peiró, announced that after the presentation of the report, the next steps will be to send the document and a declaration of responsibility to Adif so that it assumes the cost of the damages. The claim is supported by an expert report that puts a figure on the repairs and relates the damage to the railway traffic at this point in l"Horta.
The presentation of the report comes months after, in November, residents demanded a reduction in train speed when passing through l"Horta. Currently, about 76 convoys a day circulate through this section, a frequency that maintains concern among residents of the areas closest to the Rufea bypass.