(Adnkronos) – The Spanish government has assured it is working “non-stop” to “regain the trust” of citizens, after the two serious train accidents that have occurred in less than a year and have reignited concerns about the safety of the world’s second-largest high-speed rail network. “We are committed to working non-stop to win and regain the trust of citizens in the high-speed rail network,” emphasized the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, at the end of the Council of Ministers meeting. Under pressure from the opposition, the minister, who refused to resign after the collision between two high-speed trains last Wednesday in Urda which caused 69 deaths, presented to the press an “extraordinary plan to strengthen the safety of the high-speed network,” along with an aid program for survivors and victims’ families.
“The terrible accidents that occurred on the Madrid-Seville line demonstrate the absolute necessity of strengthening this system and improving the related operational protocols,” he commented. “From now on, all decisions made in a control room, when they cannot benefit from the support of automatic blocking systems, will be subject to supervision and must be validated by at least a second operator,” he announced.
According to the first elements emerged from the investigations, the Urda tragedy of October 28 would be attributable to an error that occurred in a railway traffic control center, following a computer malfunction. The investigations highlighted that an operator had authorized the resumption of circulation and given the green light to one of the trains again, despite another convoy being stopped on the same railway section. A few minutes later, the violent collision occurred.
For the moment, Óscar Puente has announced a temporary reduction in train frequency on the line between Madrid and Andalusia, until the safety work on the line is completed. Inaugurated in 1992, it is the first high-speed line to become operational in Spain.
Óscar Puente also assured that the executive intends to “improve the working conditions of controllers and strengthen staffing,” a few days after a strike by the main railway drivers’ union (Semaf), which demanded more personnel and greater guarantees regarding railway safety, less than a year after the Adamuz accident, which occurred in January and cost 46 lives. The union has called a new strike for November 10 and 12 in the second most visited country in the world every year. A general strike is also planned in Spain for November 11, three weeks before the snap legislative elections.
