The Spanish government has blamed a “possible human error” by a railway operator as the cause of a deadly collision between two high-speed trains in the central province of Toledo.The preliminary assessment points to a failure in the main signalling system, which may have contributed to the crash.At least 50 people have been killed, with fears that the toll could rise as rescue operations continued.The collision involved an AVE train and an Iryo train on the Madrid-Seville route, disrupting rail services connecting Madrid with Ciudad Real and Andalusia.“A human error by an Adif operator in the face of a breakdown of the main signaling system is the possible cause of the accident,” sources from the government led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told Okdiario.This safety system is automated, but when it fails, it switches to manual mode. That is why the trains came to a stop when the automatic safety system failed, and service resumed under human control — and that is where the error occurred, according to initial analyses by the government sources.A passenger traveling in one of the rear cars of one of the trains told EL PAÍS that he felt a “strong impact” about 40 minutes into the trip. The collision occurred at kilometer marker 118, between the towns of Mora, Orgaz, and Urda (Toledo).
The crash took place on Wednesday morning near Urda.
However, the cause has not yet been established conclusively, and investigators will need to determine what happened before the collision.Experts, however, suspect a failure in the LZB Level 2 automatic signalling system may have forced operators to switch to manual control.Introduced in the 1980s when Spain’s Madrid-Seville high-speed line was built, LZB is a train safety and control system that is now largely outdated.The line is undergoing a technological upgrade, including the installation of the newer ERTMS Level 2 system and modernisation of its signalling and telecommunications infrastructure. Rail operator ADIF has said the work is nearing completion.The officials have not yet explained exactly how the signalling breakdown occurred or what action may have led to the crash. Thefore, the possibility of human error remains a preliminary explanation.Padilla has also said it is unclear why one of the trains appeared to be stopped on the track. Investigators will have to establish the sequence of events, including whether the signalling failure and the operator’s actions directly contributed to the collision.
What happened on the railway line
The crash took place on Wednesday morning near Urda, in Toledo province. Regional government spokesperson Esther Padilla confirmed that an AVE train collided with an Iryo train on the Madrid-Seville line.According to Spanish state broadcaster TVE, one of the trains appeared to be stationary when the collision occurred. The impact sent several carriages down an embankment, prompting emergency services to rush to the scene.Padilla said officials were still trying to establish why one train appeared to have stopped and how the collision unfolded. The Iryo train was carrying 146 passengers and a baby, while the AVE train had 397 people on board.Spain’s rail infrastructure operator ADIF suspended services on the affected routes as rescue and emergency response operations continued.Expressing shock over what he called a “serious train accident”, Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez said: “Emergency services are working on the ground to assist those affected and ensure their safety, in coordination with all the involved administrations. My affection, solidarity, and support to all the victims and their families.”
Second major rail tragedy in months
The crash has renewed concerns about rail safety in Spain, which has one of Europe’s most extensive high-speed railway networks.In January, another deadly train disaster in southern Spain killed 45 people after a train derailed and collided with an oncoming train. That crash was the country’s deadliest rail disaster since 2013, when 80 people died in a train derailment near Santiago de Compostela.ALSO READ | At least 30 killed as high-speed train rams another in Spain’s Toledo; videos show gutted carriages
Leave a Reply