Investigating one of the worst train accidents in Spain’s history : NPR

EMILY KWONG, HOST:

Tomorrow, train drivers in Spain begin a three-day strike to demand better safety on the national rail network. This follows a train collision in January that killed 46 people. The investigation into the causes of the accident is ongoing. NPR’s Miguel Macias reports from Seville.

MIGUEL MACIAS, BYLINE: It was a typical Sunday afternoon. Many Spaniards were following the 20th week of LaLiga, the famous football league. Barcelona were playing that night.

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UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: Goal (vocalizing).

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MACIAS: This is the sound of the Cadena SER radio. But then the football match was interrupted by breaking news.

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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #1: (speaking Spanish).

MACIAS: As the hours passed, the worst fears were confirmed as the death toll continued to rise. When the Spanish got up the next morning, it was a real tragedy.

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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #2: (speaking Spanish).

MACIAS: National public television reported 24 deaths at the time, but that number continues to rise. Some things were immediately ruled out. It wasn’t excessive speed. These were not old trains in poor condition. This was not a human error of any kind. Authorities described the accident as extremely strange, especially since the colliding trains were on a straight, parallel section of track. The next morning, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez admitted that it would take some time to get answers.

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PRIME MINISTER PEDRO SANCHEZ: (speaking Spanish).

MACIAS: “Spanish society is wondering what happened, how it happened and how this tragedy was possible,” Sánchez said. Jose Maria Galan (ph) was a passenger on the second train, the one that crashed into the first train that derailed, both traveling at over 120 miles per hour.

JOSE MARIA GALAN: (Through interpreter) When people tell me I’m born again, I tell them we’re really unhappy because I don’t wish that experience on anyone.

MACIAS: He says at the beginning of the accident, he was just in disbelief.

GALAN: (Through interpreter) But when the shaking becomes more violent with more hits and accelerations, that’s when you know it’s going to be either luck or death.

MACIAS: He says he was lucky to be in the fourth car. The first and second cars were completely destroyed. Immediately after the accident, it was dark and Galan and other passengers walked from their train to the train that had derailed first.

GALAN: (Through interpreter) Trying to assess the terrain with visibility of about 1 meter from a cellphone flashlight and coming across human remains along the way generates a peculiar smell that sticks to your nose and instinctively gives you an adrenaline rush that urges you to flee.

MACIAS: When he finally encountered two police officers…

GALAN: (Through interpreter) They see me and ask me where I’m from. I say I’m from the other train. They look at me with a shocked expression on their face and ask: what other train?

MACIAS: Like Galan and other survivors who accompanied police to more rubble, he wondered how all of this could have been avoided. The stakes are high. Spain has the second largest high-speed rail network in the world, just after China. Cristina Bolinches is a business journalist working for elDiario.es. They have published an in-depth analysis of investments in the broadband sector in Spain.

CRISTINA BOLINCHES: (Through interpreter) What we’ve seen is that since 2019, before private companies started operating, the number of travelers has increased by 70%. However, investment in maintenance by the Spanish company that manages the rail network has increased by less than 40%.

MACIAS: Bolinches explains that the rail system in Spain is hybrid.

BOLINCHES: (Through interpreter) In Spain we have a dual model because the infrastructure, tracks and stations are public, as is the main rail operator, Renfe. And then there are two private operators who only operate high-speed trains and only on certain lines, those which carry the most passengers.

MACIAS: The public company responsible for rail infrastructure, called ADIF, is operating at a loss. Last year, it lost more than $230 million. There is no indication that ADIF is taking shortcuts. And Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente said there were no maintenance issues in the accident, as political pressure mounts.

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OSCAR PUENTE: (speaking Spanish).

MACIAS: “The lack of renovation of certain parts of the track, particularly at the accident site,” he says, “is not relevant from a safety point of view.” The investigation is now focusing on a fracture where two sections of rail were joined by welding. This rupture would have derailed the first train. The government says there has been no wrongdoing and the broadband network remains highly secure.

GALAN: (speaking Spanish).

MACIAS: Safe or not, José Maria Galán believes that basic measures like wearing seat belts or airbags could have saved lives. Now he tells me he just needs to forget what happened. The smells and the landscapes haunt him. Many Spaniards can also find it difficult to forget, especially if they don’t have the luxury of choosing another way to travel each day. Miguel Macias, NPR News, Seville, Spain.

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