Deadly train accident in Spain: the railway track broke the day before the collision

The anomaly was not detected. The railway track on which a collision between two high-speed trains took place in Spain, killing 46 people on January 18, had broken the day before the accident, Spanish media reported this Wednesday, citing investigators.

The accident in Adamuz, in Andalusia (south), was one of the deadliest railway disasters in Europe since the turn of the century and forced the authorities to examine the state of safety of the Spanish railway network.

The tragedy occurred when a Madrid-bound train, operated by the private company Iryo, derailed and crossed onto the opposite track, colliding head-on with an oncoming train, operated by the state company Renfe.

A preliminary report, published in January by the Commission of Investigation into Rail Accidents (CIAF), had suggested that the track had a crack before the derailment.

“Electrical alteration”

The Civil Guard presented a new report to a court investigating the accident, in which the rupture is recorded at 9:46 p.m. on January 17, Spanish media said, citing the document.

Although “an electrical alteration consistent with a rupture” was recorded, the signaling system “was not configured to automatically trigger the alert,” the media reported, citing the document dated March 27.

The Civil Guard indicates that this variation in tension “compatible with a rupture” between the evening of January 17 and the accident “is not usual”, but that the technical possibility of receiving alerts on this subject “will have to be clarified”.

The report also rejects the theory of sabotage, terrorism and negligence on the part of the drivers. The CIAF investigation, which must provide definitive conclusions, is still ongoing.