Spain train collision investigators examine rail damage theory | Spain
Experts investigating the deadly rail collision in southern Spain that killed 45 people and injured dozens believe the accident may have occurred when one of the trains ran over a damaged section of the railway.
The disaster occurred on Sunday near the Andalusian town of Adamuz, when a high-speed train owned by the private company Iryo derailed and collided with a high-speed train operated by the state railway company Renfe.
A preliminary report published by the Commission for the Investigation of Rail Accidents (CIAF) on Friday found nicks in the wheels on the right side of the three front carriages of the Iryo train, consistent with an impact on the top of the rail.
“These notches in the wheels and the observed deformation in the rail are consistent with the rail breaking: When the continuity of the rail is interrupted, the section before the break will initially bear the full weight of the wheel, causing that portion of the rail to sag slightly,” the report said.
“Since the section of the rails after the break will not move in harmony with the section before it, a step will form between the two sides of the break that will momentarily hit the wheel rim.”
Given the available information, the report added: “We can assume that the rail break occurred before the passage of the Iryo train involved in the accident and therefore before the derailment.” However, CIAF also stressed that the theory is tentative and will be subject to further testing and research.
Two days after the Adamuz accident, a train driver died and 37 people were injured when the train derailed as a result of the collapse of the retaining wall near the city of Gelida in Catalonia.
The two deadly incidents led Spain’s largest train drivers’ union, Semaf, to call a three-day strike in February to demand measures to guarantee the safety of rail workers and passengers.
Semaf said the strike was “the only legal way left for workers to demand the restoration of safety standards in the railway system and therefore guarantee the safety of both railway workers and passengers.”
The tragedy was also embraced by opposition parties, who accused Spain’s socialist-led coalition government of a chaotic response and lack of transparency.
“The state of the railways is a reflection of the state of the nation,” Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the conservative People’s Party, said Friday.
“Right now we don’t have the best rail system in our history, we have the worst government in our history,” he said.
