Leaked recordings from a Spanish train controller have shed new light on the horrific train crash that killed at least 69 people, while raising key questions about the ultimate blame for the disaster.
asserted
that → leak → disaster
The recordings reveal the final messages between the rail control centre in Madrid and the two train drivers operating on the same line south of the Spanish capital, moments before one train smashed into the rear of the other.
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train → reveal → other
Spanish media outlets report that a controller in Madrid told the driver of a Renfe AVE high-speed train to “resume normal operations” after being stopped due to a signalling malfunction.
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controller → report → malfunction
The instruction in Spanish, according to national newspaper El País, was la marcha normal – a message that led the driver to accelerate rapidly without knowing another train was stationary on the line ahead.
But the disclosures are fiercely contested, with union leaders angry about the leaks, and the Spanish people are yet to learn the full facts about the catastrophic errors that led to the tragedy.
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that → accord → tragedy
Five questions stand out in the search for answers about the crash on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT).
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questions → stand → Wednesday
Finding the facts will take time, however, because Spain goes to a national election on November 29.
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Spain → find → November
Political arguments are clouding the debate about who bears the blame for the tragedy.
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who → cloud → tragedy
The control centre in Madrid experienced a disruption to the system called LZB, which is also used in Germany and Austria to monitor train speeds and relay traffic instructions.
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which → experience → instructions
The failure of the automated system brought eight trains to a halt along the line, a standard safety precaution.
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failure → automate → line
Operations then reverted to manual control.
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Operations → revert → control
One expert, transport professor Carlos Gutiérrez Hita, has expressed concern about a series of LZB outages in the weeks before the crash.
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expert → express → crash
Why did the safety system fail on Wednesday morning?
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system → fail → morning
The second question is about the instructions from the control centre to the Renfe AVE train – – run by Spain’s state-owned railway company – after the halt.
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question → run → halt
The leaked recordings obtained by Spanish media outlets suggest the controller in Madrid told the Renfe AVE driver to “resume normal operations”.
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controller → leak → operations
The driver asked: “Normal operations?”
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driver → ask → operations
The controller replied: “Yes.”
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controller → reply → ?
(Bear in mind, this is sourced from leaks to the media, not official testimony.)
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this → bear → media
The definition of “normal operations” includes speeds of up to 200 kilometres per hour rather than the more cautious 40km/h during a signal outage.
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definition → include → outage
Why did the controller allow a speed so fast without being sure that other trains were also moving?
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trains → allow → speed
The third question: What did the control centre tell the other train involved in the crash, run by private operator Iryo?
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centre → tell → Iryo
The leaks suggest the instruction was to resume normal operations, but it is not clear if the Iryo driver knew that the Renfe AVE had begun accelerating at 8.36am and was only about 25 kilometres behind on the same line.
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AVE → suggest → line
Was anything done to make this known?
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this → do → ?
What happened in the final minutes before the crash?
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What → happen → crash
The driver of the Iryo train told the control centre of a problem: the system restart had failed and the Iryo remained stationary.
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Iryo → tell → problem
The leaked recordings give her actual words.
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recordings → leak → words
“I have had a loss of transmission and I am stopped at the Urda entrance signal,” she said, according to the transcript published by Spanish state broadcaster RTVE.
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she → have → RTVE
The control centre told the driver to keep trying to resume normal operation.
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centre → tell → operation
Minutes later, the two sides spoke again.
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sides → speak → ?
“The train is not allowing me to restart the LZB system,” the Iryo driver said.
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driver → allow → system
“And that is why I am still stopped before the entrance signal.
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I → stop → signal
The response from the controller was to ask her to begin moving as soon as she could.
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she → ask → her
“And if you have a problem, call us,” the controller said.
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controller → have → us
The driver replied: “OK, perfect.
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driver → reply → ?
I’ll let you know.”
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you → let → ?
This was at 8.48am, according to Spanish newspaper El País.
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This → accord → País
The speeding train smashed into the stationary train at 8.53am.
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train → speed → 8.53am
If the leaked recordings are accurate, it is already clear that human errors led to tragic deaths.
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errors → leak → deaths
The rail unions, however, have reacted angrily to the idea that one of their own will bear the blame for the disaster.
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one → react → disaster
“Human errors occur when you don’t have the equipment you need to do your job,” one union leader told El País.
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leader → occur → País
Getting straight answers will be challenging during an election campaign.
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Getting → get → campaign
…and 15 more, not listed.
The Aporia
