Railway accident in Santiago de Compostela

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Carriages carried from the curved track

The railway accident in Santiago de Compostela occurred on July 24, 2013 near the Spanish city ​​of Santiago de Compostela , when a high-speed train derailed on a curved track due to massively excessive speed (more than double the permitted 80 km / h) . 80 people died in the accident .

It was the worst railway accident in Europe since the Eschede ICE accident , the worst in Spain since the El Cuervo railway accident in 1972 and the first accident involving a passenger train on a high-speed line in Spain.

Starting position

train

On July 24, 2013, was umspurbare speed train of Triebzuggattung Alvia of the series 730 ( Talgo 250  H) and train 01,455 of RENFE on the way from Madrid Chamartin to Ferrol . The 730 series is equipped with the ETCS Level 1 train control system. However, its use was suspended in November 2012 after a trial period because software problems led to delays. Instead, the conventional ASFA digital train control system was used.

A stop was planned in Ourense and the engine driver was relieved. The engine driver who took over the train was supposed to run the train alone and that day had already driven a train from Pontevedra via Vigo to Ourense. He was 52 years old at the time of the accident and had been with RENFE since November 7, 1981. There he had initially worked as an assistant. After several advanced and advanced training courses, he was employed as a train driver on freight trains until 2008 . He then drove local trains in the Madrid area from 2008 to 2011, and finally high-speed trains in Galicia from 2011.

The train left Ourense two to three minutes late ( scheduled departure: 8:01 pm). According to the timetable, 40 minutes were planned for the 87.1 km to Santiago de Compostela .

There were 218 travelers and four railway employees on the train. According to other information, there were 247 travelers.

Railway infrastructure

The train ran on the wide - gauge high-speed line belonging to LAV Corredor Galicia , which was put into operation in 2011. It was equipped with ETCS Level 1 up to kilometer 80.3, but the subsequent section only with the Spanish train control system ASFA . ASFA works with punctual train control , which allows a maximum of 200 km / h instead of the 220 km / h possible with ETCS. If - as in the present case - all signals in front of the train indicate that the train is free, ASFA only triggers an emergency brake when the train exceeds 200 km / h . ASFA does not monitor fixed speed changes on the route .

At the transition from the high-speed line to the line with conventional equipment, there was a distant signal with the associated ASFA balise and the last Eurobalise . It simply sends the information to a suitably equipped train that the automatic driving control from ETCS ends at this point.

Before entering the train station in Santiago de Compostela, the route leads through the A-Grandeira arch to the left with a radius of 402 m, which is designed for a maximum speed of 80 km / h. Approx. There is a main signal at km 84.1 100 m in front of the arch .

Regulations

Telephone calls from engine drivers while driving are only permitted in urgent emergencies.

the accident

Photo of the scene of the accident from the AP-9 motorway with burning cars
Derailed wagons of the train
Rescue workers at the accident site
Derailed power car

Immediately before the derailment

The train was a few minutes late and was traveling at 199 km / h when the driver's mobile phone rang at 77.79 km at 20:39:06 . He took a call from the train conductor and started talking to him at 20:39:15.

After 37 seconds of sounded when passing the ASFA-Balise distant signal E7 at kilometer 80.33 of the acoustic indication that the main signal E7 84.1 kilometers at Free Ride show. According to the book timetable , the engine driver should have reduced the speed from this point to the main signal to 80 km / h.

While the driver was talking on the phone , the train drove at undiminished speed through the penultimate tunnel in front of the main signal. When the train continued to drive through the last tunnel at 83.82 kilometers at 20:40:55 at almost 200 km / h, the phone call ended with a loud cry from the train driver. The train was about 300 m from the main signal and the almost immediately adjacent A-Grandeira bend. At that moment, the engine driver realized that the train was traveling at far excessive speed. He later stated during the interrogation that he had a misfire and was not sure where the train was on the route . A second later, there was a visual and acoustic signal for the switch following the track curve , another three seconds later the train reached the tunnel exit, where the engine driver initiated emergency braking at a speed of 195 km / h .

derailment

The train passed the on Free travel related main signal by crossing the highway at kilometer 84.2 and drove into the curved track. The first wagons of the train derailed at 20:41:06 at kilometer 84.41 at a speed of 179 km / h. Four seconds later, the engine driver pressed the emergency stop switch at 84.59 kilometers , and immediately afterwards the power car derailed under a road bridge, still at 153 km / h.

Four of the cars overturned. A car was completely destroyed, one torn apart, another started by leaking diesel fuel of the generator car fire .

A surveillance camera recorded the accident.

consequences

Immediate consequences

80 people died, 74 of them still at the scene of the accident, 140 other people were injured, six of them died later in hospital.

The morning after the accident, Spanish authorities, including the railway accident investigative authority, Comisión de Investigación de Accidentes Ferroviarios (CIAF), began investigations.

The driver was trapped in the driver's cab and was slightly injured. On the train radio he said: "I hope there are no dead, because I would have them on my conscience." He later helped with the rescue work.

Sadness

The day after the accident, July 25th, is Jacob's Day , the feast of St. Jacob , the patron saint of Santiago de Compostela. The celebrations have been canceled. Many of the passengers on the train were on their way to the celebrations in Santiago de Compostela. On that day, the Spanish Minister of Transport Ana Pastor visited the accident site. The Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy , who was born in Santiago de Compostela, also visited the scene of the accident on July 25, 2013 and declared a three-day state mourning .

On July 29, 2013, a funeral service was held in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela , led by the Archbishop of Santiago , Julián Barrio . Among other things, the then Crown Prince of Spain, Felipe , his wife Letizia , the eldest daughter of the then King Juan Carlos I , Elena , and Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy took part.

examination

After the investigation, the engine driver was distracted by a phone call on his cell phone and failed to slow the train from 180 km / h to the mandatory 80 km / h.

Proposed changes

The Spanish train drivers' union Semaf criticized the lack of safety equipment during the transition from high-speed to normal routes, in particular the lack of ETCS. The criticism was rejected by the responsible Ministry of Public Works. This attitude seems to be changing after the change of government in summer 2018.

The CIAF recommended the introduction of speed test sections with ASFA balises at high speed differences . This should be signaled on the track at points where the line speed is reduced on the open road. This was implemented at the accident site after a few days and should be extended to other similar hazard areas. At the scene of the accident, a speed limit stop with a maximum speed of 30 km / h was initially set up. There is a balise in front of the speed limit stop, which limits the speed to 60 km / h, another five kilometers in front of this was installed to monitor compliance with the maximum speed of 160 km / h prescribed there.

In connection with the accident, the European Railway Agency sharply reprimanded Spain for the lack of independence of the CIAF from the political supervision of the responsible ministry for public works. After the change of government in summer 2018, that could change.

Legal processing

Criminal proceedings

A number of people have been charged with no verdict in a criminal case as of October 2018 . Charges were brought against:

  • the driver. He was initially arrested and conditionally released on July 28, 2013. In late July 2013, he was charged with multiple negligent homicide . He is still at large. He is no longer allowed to drive. RENFE transferred him to one of their workshops and entrusted him with subordinate work.
  • three senior officials from ADIF and RENFE and
  • three technicians from the publicly owned consultancy Ineco .

Civil litigation (damages)

The relatives criticize what they consider to be insufficient education. In an act of commemoration to mark the first anniversary of the accident, relatives refused to award the victims an award in protest of the inadequate investigation. The relatives have now joined forces in two associations and have sued RENFE under civil law for damages amounting to millions. The RENFE, in turn, wants compensation from the ADIF because the route was only poorly equipped with safety systems. The conservative government under Mariano Rajoy, however, prevented a legal dispute between the two state institutions. After the change of government on June 2, 2018 and the takeover of government by the Socialist Party , the new Minister of Public Works responsible for transport, José Luis Ábalos , has promised a full investigation. This will make documents that are currently withheld at RENFE and ADIF accessible for civil proceedings.

Web links

Commons : Santiago de Compostela railway accident  - collection of images

Remarks

  1. ↑ In 2004 an accident occurred with a test train on the Madrid – Seville high-speed line . El País, February 14, 2004
  2. ↑ Departure 3:00 p.m.
  3. ↑ Timetable arrival 10:36 p.m.
  4. ↑ According to an older report, there is also Gonzalo Ferre, President of the ADIF, who is accused of "serious omission" with regard to the safety of rail traffic ( AFP: proceedings against railway chief after train accident in Spain . Accessed: November 17, 2018).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Ute Müller: arrest warrant against train drivers . In: The world . No. 173 , July 27, 2013, p. 32 ( online ).
  2. ^ Eisenbahn-Revue International 10/2013, p. 534 (535).
  3. ↑ Casi todos los muertos viajaban en 'La Cochinita' , In: El País , July 25, 2013
  4. ↑ a b Ute Müller: Accident at 200 km / h . In: The world . No. 172 , July 26, 2013, p. 24 .
  5. ↑ a b c d e Fernando Puente: ETCS not operable on Santiago crash train. IRJ, July 26, 2013, accessed July 26, 2013 .
  6. ↑ LAV Ourense-Santiago-A Coruña. (No longer available online.) ADIF , archived from the original on August 31, 2013 ; Retrieved July 26, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.adif.es
  7. ↑ Train went twice as fast as allowed. Die Zeit , July 25, 2013, accessed on July 26, 2013 .
  8. ^ Serious train accident in Spain. (No longer available online.) Yahoo News, July 26, 2013, formerly original ; Retrieved July 26, 2013 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / de.nachrichten.yahoo.com  
  9. ^ Train accident in northern Spain - Endless mourning in Santiago . In: Sueddeutsche.de, July 25, 2013, accessed on July 26, 2013.
  10. ↑ El sistema que permite el frenado automático del Alvia tiene fallos , El País August 2, 2013
  11. ↑ Accident investigation report, p. 9.
  12. ↑ a b c Train accident in Spain: caller identified. In: NZZ. August 1, 2013, accessed August 3, 2013 .
  13. ↑ a b c d Los últimos kilómetros de Alvia 151. In: El País . August 1, 2013, Retrieved August 3, 2013 (Spanish).
  14. ↑ a b Train accident in Spain: train driver speaks of dropouts. In: euronews. July 31, 2013, accessed August 3, 2013 .
  15. ↑ Así descarriló el tren de Santiago. Video recording of the accident from a surveillance camera. El País, accessed July 26, 2013 (Spanish).
  16. ↑ a b Video shows Crash: With Tempo 190 to death (ksta.de)
  17. ↑ Position of the camera: http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/node/2401025902
  18. ↑ Ebru Nachrichten: Surveillance video shows the express train from Santiago de Compostela derailed. July 25, 2013, accessed July 21, 2019 .
  19. ↑ where: Difficult investigation of accidents in Spain . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International 11/2018, p. 582.
  20. ↑ News from 5:00 p.m. Deutschlandradio , July 28, 2013, accessed on July 28, 2013 .
  21. ↑ The train driver must be in custody. Blick.ch , July 26, 2013, accessed on July 26, 2013 .
  22. ↑ Investigations in Santiago de Compostela: “I'm not so crazy as not to slow down”. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. July 31, 2013, accessed July 23, 2014 .
  23. ↑ a b "I drive 190 kilometers per hour" . In: Handelsblatt . No. 142 , July 26, 2013, p. 11 .
  24. ↑ Rajoy está pendiente del accidente del tren de Santiago y la ministra de Fomento se desplaza a Galicia. (No longer available online.) Tribuna Valladolid, July 26, 2013, archived from the original on December 3, 2013 ; Retrieved July 26, 2013 (Spanish). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.tribunavalladolid.com
  25. ↑ At least 80 dead in train accident: Spain proclaims state mourning. tagesschau.de, July 25, 2013, archived from the original on July 28, 2013 ; Retrieved July 26, 2013 .
  26. ↑ Spain: Justice investigates train drivers for negligent homicide . Der Standard , July 27, 2013
  27. ↑ where: Difficult investigation of accidents in Spain . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International 11/2018, p. 582.
  28. ↑ a b Fomento refuerza la seguridad en la curva de Santiago y prevé extender las balizas a otros tramos. In: El Mundo . August 2, 2013, Retrieved August 3, 2013 (Spanish).
  29. ↑ where: Difficult investigation of accidents in Spain . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International 11/2018, p. 582.
  30. ↑ where: Difficult investigation of accidents in Spain . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International 11/2018, p. 582.
  31. ^ Train accident in Spain: train driver admits carelessness . Spiegel online , July 29, 2013.
  32. ↑ Unlucky train driver in court: "Oh my God - the curve, the curve, the curve" . Spiegel online , August 2, 2013.
  33. ↑ Belén Domínguez Cebrián and David Reinero: Las víctimas recogen su medalla: “Gracias por secarnos las lágrimas” . In: El País of July 24, 2014.
  34. ↑ where: Difficult investigation of accidents in Spain . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International 11/2018, p. 582.

Coordinates: 42 ° 51 ′ 34 "  N , 8 ° 31 ′ 40"  W.