Politics1 min read

Spain’s trust in high-speed rail ‘broken’ after second deadly crash this year, says PM

By · Via The Guardian · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The collision in Castilla-La Mancha occurred after the automated LZB signalling system failed, forcing the Madrid Adif control centre to manage track movements manually. A preliminary report found an Adif controller incorrectly cleared the Renfe train to proceed at normal speed, causing it to strike the halted train at up to 200kph instead of the mandated 40kph limit. While transport officials pointed to operator error, rail unions maintain that chronic workload issues and recurring automated system breakdowns are the real hazards. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has pledged to identify the root causes to prevent further disasters, while Transport Minister Óscar Puente has dismissed calls to s…

Key points

  • Operational safety transferred to manual human control after the automated LZB signalling…: Operational safety transferred to manual human control after the automated LZB signalling system malfunctioned prior to the crash.
  • Rail traffic controllers maintain that heavy workloads and persistent automated safety sy…: Rail traffic controllers maintain that heavy workloads and persistent automated safety system failures are primary factors behind the tragedy.
  • The Spanish government has promised to investigate the underlying causes and carry out so…: The Spanish government has promised to investigate the underlying causes and carry out solutions to safeguard the high-speed network.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has admitted “trust in high-speed rail has been broken” after Wednesday’s deadly train collision that killed at least 69 people, injured more than 100 and prompted a national debate on the safety of the country’s rail network.

Sánchez said the Spanish state was “working tirelessly” to provide information as quickly as possible to the families of the victims – who include people from at least 23 different foreign countries – adding that his government was committed to finding what had caused Spain’s second deadly train collision this year.

Two trains, one from Spain’s state-owned Renfe and the other from the private rail company Iryo, were travelling from Madrid towards the southern region of Andalucía on Wednesday when they collided just before 9am. After the Iryo train came to a halt, the other slammed into its rear, knocking several carriages off the track near Urda in the central region of Castilla-La Mancha.

The crash came nine months after 46 people were killed and dozens injured when two trains – one from Renfe and one from Iryo…

Politics