The largest union of train drivers in Spain on 18th January declared a three-day national strike on February 9-11 to be taken to achieve solutions to ensure railway safety following three derailments in 48 hours that caused crashes, killing dozens of people, including two drivers.

On Tuesday, a commuter train derailed, when a retaining wall should have collapsed down on the track in Gelida near Barcelona, where the driver was killed and four passengers seriously injured as a result of this landslide.

It followed close to Adamuz in the southern province of Cordoba, on Sunday, when two trains crashed in one of the worst train accidents in Europe. One of the people who lost their lives was a train driver.

The missing chunk of undercarriage that investigators have been scanning the Adamuz crash site to establish the cause of the accident might be a large piece of machinery in a source, and experts told them on Wednesday.

In response to this, Transport Minister Oscar Puente told reporters that investigators had photographed and examined that piece, and that it seemed logical to assume that the piece had flown into a stream when the two trains hit each other.

Puente added that the plan is underway to resume the Madrid-Andalucia rail connection that has been closed since the accident that happened on Sunday on February 2.

“On Tuesday, a rock falling on the line caused a third train derailment on the Barcelona regional train network, which left no injuries,” rail network operator Adif said.

The train operators union SEMAF in a statement said, “ the deadly accidents that occurred in Adamuz and Gelida are a turning point and all must be done to ensure the safety of railway operations.”

It stipulated that it was to impose criminal responsibility on the ones who are in charge of providing safety in the rail network.

UNION had threatened wear and tear

In a copy of the letter obtained by Reuters, SEMAF had advised Adif last August that there was serious wear and tear on the railway track on which the two trains collided, indicating that potholes, bumps and imbalances in power lines overhead were contributing to regular breakdowns and damaging the trains in several of the high-speed lines in the network.

Puente, to reporters, did not agree with the opinion that a general strike was the most effective method, saying that he would consult the unions.

He eliminated the accident Adamuz as an accident associated with a human factor but indicated that the accident cause has not been established yet and appeared to be extremely complicated.

He claimed that small marks were present on the front bogies of the derailed train and some of the previous trains but it was premature to directly trace them to defects in infrastructure.

PRISING APART THE CARRIAGE

The body of another person was discovered by rescuers at the Adamuz crash site raising the number of dead people to 43 as they forced open the second carriage of the train operated by state operator Renfe that housed the cafeteria of the Andalusian regional government according to a statement issued by state authorities.

One of the last carriages of the derailed train of private consortium Iryo had been cleared off the scene overnight by means of cranes.

Puente stated that the period between the derailment and the crash was only nine seconds, which is not enough time to let the trains slow down. The government had already indicated that the difference was twenty seconds.

“Audio of the telephone conversations between the driver of the Iryo train and the control centre in Madrid,” which Puente said indicated that he and those in the front five carriages had not initially realised that there was a crash with a different train.

Only after getting down the train to inspect it and noticing the damage to the rear carriages did he give another call and request ambulances to be dispatched.

On Wednesday, Adif announced that it had imposed another speed limit on the Madrid-Barcelo line as a result of a driver complaining that the conditions on the track were poor on the 78-kilometre stretch.

“On Tuesday, it had instructed drivers to drive at a slower pace due to fears about the condition of the track. Its maintenance crew had conducted a nightly inspection on the line and discovered four points, which required repair,” Adif said in a statement.

Adif has also on Wednesday ordered trains passing between Madrid and the eastern city of Valencia to limit their speed on a 1.8-km stretch of the line.

Trains in Catalonia were halted on Wednesday over regional lines to make inspections of the tracks following storms in the region over the past few days.

Renfe uploaded a picture of its President Alvaro Fernandez Heredia with a replacement bus service on his way back to Madrid in Adamuz.