Two train disasters in less than a year. The paradox of Spain’s high-speed rail network

The high-speed train accident in Spain is a huge tragedy and is the second in less than a year. On 18 January this year, there was an accident on the high-speed line between Madrid and Andalusia, claiming 46 lives, and now this new accident, with dozens more victims. The events are surprising, given that the high-speed rail sector is among the safest in the world and, in over 60 years of history, there have been virtually no serious accidents globally.

It will be up to the Spanish rail safety and judicial authorities to shed full light on what happened, but in fact a Renfe train ‘rear-ended’ another train operated by Iryo that was stationary on the line.

In high-speed rail systems, in theory, such accidents cannot occur, because signalling systems are in place to ensure that safe distances are maintained between trains. In high-speed rail, these systems are particularly advanced and, at European level, there is the ERTMS, a very safe system.

In Spain, however, the section of track where this latest accident occurred had not yet been fitted with ERTMS. Instead, the ‘old’ LZB system was in place, although it was switched off at the time of the accident.

An alternative, more ‘manual’ system, such as Asfa, was in operation, and evidently authorisation had been given for the second train to proceed, which then collided with the first. Another factor to be clarified is the speed at which the second train was travelling, given that the main signalling system was switched off and, in theory, the train should have been travelling at a reduced speed.

There are therefore still several aspects to be clarified regarding this extremely serious accident, but it should be emphasised that the ERTMS system was also due to be installed in Spain on the line in question.

It should also be noted that in Italy, the infrastructure manager, Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, is the European leader in ERTMs and that this system is the standard on the high-speed network.

It is clear that there is no such thing as zero risk, but it is worth remembering that the train remains one of the safest modes of transport, alongside the aeroplane.

Spain is certainly no newcomer to high-speed rail, having completed its first line 34 years ago and boasting the most extensive high-speed rail network in Europe and the second largest in the world, after China. It even has more kilometres of high-speed track than Japan.

However, the Iberian country has recorded its second serious accident in less than a year (at a time when virtually none have occurred globally) and had already reduced the speed limit on several stretches of track for safety reasons following the January accident, to the extent that the journey between Madrid and Barcelona has been extended by over half an hour.

Politically, this incident is likely to have consequences, given that the Sánchez government, which has been in office for over eight years, is now under fire for this second serious incident, which comes shortly before the 29 November elections. The Spanish infrastructure operator, Adif, is in fact a public body, and the various cases of corruption that have emerged in recent years in the transport and infrastructure sectors do not reflect well on the government.

Leaving aside the political controversies that are already mounting in Spain, now is the time to understand how two extremely serious incidents could have occurred in less than a year within a system in which so much has been invested.

This is important in order to restore confidence in the rail system itself and, above all, to ensure justice is done for the dozens of people who died and the hundreds who were injured in Spain.