Spain’s high-speed train network, the world’s second longest, is a national pride and joy. Whisking passengers across a large country, it is a daily convenience and a symbol of modernity and efficiency. So a crash on the evening of January 18th, in which at least 43 people were killed and over 150 injured when two high-speed trains collided in Andalucía, has shaken Spaniards. It will also raise questions about priorities in infrastructure spending.
The crash occurred when the last three coaches of a train from Málaga to Madrid derailed and blocked the southbound line. The train was operated by Iryo, a company led by Trenitalia, Italy’s state-owned rail operator. Twenty seconds later a second train belonging to Renfe, a company owned by the Spanish state, ploughed into them. Rescuers described carnage akin to an air crash. Both trains were under the speed limit of 250kph. The Iryo train was less than four years old and had been inspected three days earlier. The stretch of track where the tragedy took place had been renovated last year.
“We’re all asking ourselves how this happened,” said Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s prime minister, when he visited the crash site at the village of Adamuz. Indeed so. It was Spain’s first crash involving high-speed trains, and its worst rail accident since 2013. Preliminary investigations revealed a worn fishplate, causing a gap to open between two lengths of rail. A full inquiry will take weeks or months. But the context invites questions. The network has seen mounting delays and disruptions because of the theft of cables, maintenance issues or extreme weather.
On January 20th, two days after the collision at Adamuz, an apprentice driver died and 37 people were injured when a suburban train crashed into a wall that had collapsed during torrential rain near Barcelona. The problems have coincided with a commercially successful liberalisation of parts of the high-speed network: since 2021 Iryo and a French rival have challenged Renfe’s previous monopoly. Traffic on the busiest lines has surged (by up to 70%) as prices have fallen.
The train drivers’ union has announced a three-day strike next month over safety concerns. Investment in Spanish rail fell after the financial crisis, but has recently increased. Some rail experts worry that governments have prioritised expanding the network over maintaining it. Both Renfe and Adif, the state body that manages rail infrastructure, are homes for political appointees. The crash may have had nothing to do with these issues. But debate about them will nevertheless grow. ■
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