Madrid-Seville line crash: Audio suggests trains cleared to move after signal failure
Recordings published in Spanish media suggest one high-speed train was cleared to proceed at normal speed while another stood stalled 25km ahead, as the death toll reaches 69.
Audio recordings published in Spanish media reveal exchanges between train drivers and a railway control centre in the minutes before a crash that killed at least 69 people and injured dozens. Officials are investigating Wednesday morning's disaster, which occurred when a train travelling from Madrid to Seville barrelled into a stationary train.
Three recordings between the control centre in Madrid and two drivers appear to show that one high-speed train was given clearance to move even though another some 25km (15 miles) ahead had stalled. Pedro Sánchez, who travelled to the crash site, said authorities were working "day and night" to "get to the bottom of every last detail of this tragedy". The release of the recordings comes as Spain begins three days of national mourning for one of the worst rail disasters in Europe's modern history.
One train, run by the state-owned operator Renfe, carried 397 passengers. Ahead of it on the same line was a train run by the private operator Iryo, with 147 passengers. A reported computer failure in the automatic signalling system had forced all trains to halt on the affected stretch. Later, however, the Renfe train was ordered to proceed in "error", according to Spain's transport minister.
Recordings published by outlets including El Pais and RTVE capture the conversations that preceded the collision. In one, a control centre operator speaks to the driver of the Renfe train, which was travelling behind the other and had been experiencing technical difficulties. After some exchanges, the operator tells the driver: "Continue your journey and then proceed under [Lateral Signalling Block], at normal speed with normal operation." The driver replies, "At normal speed?" The controller confirms: "Yes."
The Lateral Signalling Block is a back-up system used when the automatic signalling or data transmission system fails. In another recording, the driver of the Iryo train says communication with the train-control system has been lost and the train is not moving. The train "is stationary in front of the entry signal at Urda", the driver tells the control centre. After a series of exchanges, the driver is told to "resume the journey" normally. According to a later recording, the Iryo driver contacts the control centre again to say the train cannot start. "The train won't allow me to control the [security] system. That's why I am still stopped in front of the entry signal," they say. That recording suggests the controller had been notified that the Iryo train remained stationary as the Renfe train approached. Iryo said its train was "struck from behind" by the other.
Óscar Puente, the transport minister, said on Wednesday that the decision to instruct the trains to move again without any speed restrictions was "inexplicable". The leaking of the recordings has drawn criticism from some Spanish politicians. Alberto Ibáñez, a member of Congress for the left-wing Sumar platform, described the leaks on X as "despicable". Irene Montero, the prime ministerial candidate for Podemos, said responsibility should not be placed on one worker, adding that drivers and experts had warned for years against liberalisation of the railway sector.
From the crash site, Sánchez said: "We are working day and night not only to support the victims' families, but also to establish every last detail of this tragedy and strengthen safety measures to ensure it never happens again." Most Spanish politicians have cancelled public engagements and suspended campaigning before a snap election on 29 November. The exception is the far-right party Vox. Its leader, Santiago Abascal, said his party would not take part in attempts to "use mourning to silence criticism" of the country's rail infrastructure.
Overnight, around 1,500 people gathered outside the Spanish Transport Ministry in Madrid, according to the broadcaster TVE, which reported that demonstrators were largely calling for the resignations of Sánchez and Puente. Police used tear gas to disperse crowds after protesters hurled bottles and flares. No injuries or arrests were reported. Rail drivers went ahead with a planned strike on Thursday, with the Spanish Union of Railway Drivers (Semaf) saying the action was held "in defence of railway safety". Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the main opposition People's Party, said: "Spain has the right to know what is happening with its infrastructure."
At the crash site, emergency crews worked through the night under floodlights to cut open metal carriages in the search for victims, many of whom are still to be identified. Hundreds of personnel have been deployed, according to the interior ministry, with drones and helicopters used to find victims and remove rubble. A spokesperson for the Spanish Civil Guard told the BBC that more than 900 people from specialist departments had been deployed, and that the priority was identifying remains. They said they did not know how long this would take, but urged those with missing family members to attend local centres set up to collect DNA samples.
Witnesses described seeing people crying and bleeding, passengers trapped in their seats and smoke billowing through the carriages, one of which caught fire. Late on Wednesday, relatives were still trying to gather information about passengers on either train. The Civil Guard has set up bureaus in Madrid, Toledo, Seville and Córdoba to investigate reports of missing persons. "The top priority is the identification of the missing persons and the taking of DNA samples to be able to locate their relatives," it wrote on X. Wednesday's crash is the worst the country has seen since 2013, when 80 people died on the outskirts of Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain.