Survivors of three fatal Spanish rail crashes urge maintenance overhaul

Three major train disasters have killed 135 people in Spain over the past three years, prompting survivors and infrastructure experts to demand a major shift in how the national high-speed network is maintained. The most recent incident occurred on Wednesday near Urda, close to Toledo, where two trains collided and left at least 69 people dead. This crash followed a similar collision in Adamuz near Cordoba in January of this year, which killed 46 people. Both accidents took place on the same route connecting Madrid and Seville.

The pattern of failures spans a decade. The Angrois crash in 2013 near Santiago de Compostela remains the deadliest in Spanish history, killing 80 passengers when a high-speed train derailed at 200km/h despite a limit of 80km/h. Cristobal Gonzalez, a survivor of the Angrois accident, noted that the causes vary by incident. He explained that speed caused the 2013 crash, a track defect caused the January crash, and human error combined with control system issues likely caused the Wednesday crash.

Gonzalez, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, said the mental scars remain after 13 years. He emphasized that action is required to prevent further tragedies. Santiago Rosendo, a passenger on the Adamuz train, described the sudden stop and the subsequent crash that left the carriages in darkness. He expressed disbelief that a second fatal collision had occurred on the same line within months of the first.

Financial data from the European Commission reveals a disparity in spending priorities. Between 2018 and 2022, Spain allocated an average of $1.67 billion annually to high-speed lines. However, only 16 percent of that funding went to maintenance or repairs. In comparison, Italy, Germany, and France spent between 33 and 39 percent of their similar infrastructure budgets on upkeep, even though their networks are smaller than Spain's 4,000km system.

Jose Maria Goicolea, spokesman for the Spanish Association of Civil Engineers, argued that the increased usage of the network necessitates higher maintenance costs. He noted that high-speed rail ridership reached 40 million in 2024, nearly double the 2019 figure. Goicolea suggested closing the Madrid to Seville line while the outdated LZB control system is phased out. He stated that the 1970s-era German-made system was partly responsible for the Wednesday crash due to a failure, though human error was also a factor.

Ramiro Aupin Lopera, an infrastructure expert from the University Politecnica de Catalunya, described the drop in maintenance investment since the 2011 financial crisis as ridiculous. He linked the decline in funding to the recent string of accidents. Private operators Ouigo and Iryo have also voiced concerns about the obsolete technology on the Madrid to Seville route. Helen Venezuela, former director of Ouigo Espana, previously compared using the LZB system to watching modern content in black and white.

Diego Martin, a representative of the SEMAF train drivers' union, cautioned against placing all blame on rail workers. He asserted that identifying and determining the root causes of failures is the only way to prevent future accidents. The investigation into the Adamuz crash found that a broken rail caused one train to veer off the line into the path of an oncoming train. The Madrid to Seville line is the only route in Spain still using the LZB system, which is currently being replaced.