The black boxes of the two trains that crashed on January 18 in Adamuz (Córdoba) reveal that between the derailment of the Iryo train and collision with the Alvia trainOnly fifteen seconds passed, according to a statement released Tuesday evening by the Railway Accident Investigation Commission (CIAF). Specifically, the black boxes provide information about the most critical 43 seconds of the accident, between 7:43 p.m. and 7:44 p.m., when the two trains collided while traveling below the permitted speed (250 km/h). The starting point where the Iryo train derailed and occupied the other track (from the Loma del Partidor Norte tunnel to the Adamuz South switch) coincides with the "track where the rail fracture was located," the CIAF indicates. The investigation states that at 19:43:29 hours, an electrical disconnection of the train's motor occurred, "the first anomaly detected as a symptom of the derailment," while fifteen seconds later (at 19:43:44 hours), the Alvia train's black box "stopped recording." This moment, therefore, "presumably corresponds to the moment of the collision between the two trains," according to an initial analysis of the black boxes, which reveals that the derailment triggered an automatic emergency braking of the Alvia through the LZB safety system (a railway safety system). Temperature alarm

According to the CIAF (Spanish Railway Infrastructure Manager), the disconnection was presumably related to "voltage disturbances or a lack of contact between the pantograph and the overhead contact line," being the first anomaly detected as a symptom of the derailment. At the time of the disconnection, which occurred through the opening of the circuit breaker, the Iryo train was traveling at 205 km/h. Four seconds after this first derailment, the Iryo was on track circuit 645, but a temperature alarm was registered in the grease boxes of car 8, "presumably because it was already derailed." "This alarm triggers the activation of the train's brakes, and the train is braking," the CIAF reports, adding that at 19:43:37, eight seconds after the derailment, switch A645 was not checked.

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Chaos, disarray... Words fail to describe the situation on the commuter rail network following the train crash last week into a retaining wall that had collapsed onto the tracks due to heavy rains near Gelida. The accident resulted in the death of a trainee driver and injuries to 37 others. And now we have to add to the list. the blockade of goods in the ports of Barcelona and TarragonaApparently, the accident, combined with bad weather and other factors, exacerbated deficiencies that had accumulated over years.

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"Now is not the time for controversy." These words, spoken this Thursday by the PP spokesperson in the Andalusian Parliament, Toni Marín, exemplify the communication strategy employed by Juanma Moreno Bonilla's government regarding the Adamuz tragedy. All levels of government, including the Spanish government, "have risen to the occasion," Marín emphasized during his turn to speak, expressing his gratitude for the suspension of the plenary session initially scheduled for yesterday. Hours later, the Andalusian president himself chose not to engage with Isabel Díaz Ayuso's criticism of Pedro Sánchez's administration: "We recovered two bodies three hours ago. I'm not one for controversy; there will be time for an investigation later." The Andalusian PP's strategy serves to clearly differentiate itself from the national PP and, above all, from the Madrid president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who has stated that a "code of silence" has been imposed following the accident to cover up the Zapatero issue and has even suggested that the Andalusian and Spanish governments agreed to arrange the victims' funerals in Madrid.

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After two days of suspension, the commuter rail service will resume this Friday "with as much normality as possible," according to the company's spokesperson in Catalonia, Antonio Carmona. He explained that two trains will run on the R2 Nord line between El Prat Airport and Granollers tonight. Company staff will work throughout the night to gradually restore service, and Carmona is confident that the majority of trains on the Catalan rail network will be running by morning. The announcement came after Renfe, Adif, representatives of the train drivers, and the government reached an agreement during the afternoon to restore the commuter rail service, which had been paralyzed for the past 48 hours. After staging a sit-in on Thursday, the train drivers achieved one of their main demands: that a "thorough inspection" of the 13 commuter rail routes (or lines) be carried out before the normal operation of the rail network resumes to guarantee their safety. It wasn't until this inspection was completed that service began to be restored line by line.

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TheInvestigation into Sunday night's train crash in AdamuzThe train crash, which has already left 42 dead, more than a hundred injured, and 43 missing, continues. Moments after the Adamuz train accident, the driver of the Iryo company contacted the Adif control center in Atocha to warn that he had experienced a "coupler" near the town in Córdoba province. The communication, recorded on the train's black box and published by [unclear - possibly "the train" or "the train"].Eldiario.esThe recording contains the initial description of what happened, when the driver still didn't have a complete understanding of the derailment or the extent of the collision with the other train involved. Far from clarifying the facts, however, the audio has raised many questions. How could neither the driver nor the control personnel mention the collision with the Alvia train? How could the control personnel say that "no other train is coming"? The ARA (Argentine Radio and Television Archive) has spoken with several train drivers and experts who, with their experience, provide the necessary context to interpret this call. This is a reconstruction of what likely happened in the minutes following the fatal collision and the call:

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Closed gates and out-of-service trains. Tuesday's double accident on the Catalan rail network, shortly after the serious collision between two trains in Adamuz, Córdoba, has raised serious concerns about the state of the infrastructure in Catalonia. For this reason, authorities decided in the early hours of the morning to suspend all commuter rail service until the safety of the entire network could be confirmed. Transport Minister Óscar Puente confirmed this afternoon that the service would not operate for the entire day. This morning, stations were filled with people who were unaware of the service suspension, and information points were set up to assist them.

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“I was at home when I heard about the train derailment,” Ana explains. It was already night, and this resident of Adamuz (Córdoba) was already in her pajamas, but she and her partner, Francisco, didn't hesitate: they got in the car and drove as close as possible to the tracks where the train tragedy had just occurred. “There were a lot of people screaming, a woman about to die, more people getting out of the carriages, covered in blood, some unconscious…” she recalls. Even now, she doesn't understand how she was able to stay and help the injured. “Normally, I faint at the sight of a drop of blood,” she admits.

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"It's a strange accident," said Transport Minister Óscar Puente on Sunday night about the train tragedy in Córdoba, one of the worst in Spanish history, which has claimed, so far, the lives of 40 peopleNow, in clarifying the causes and shedding some light on what happened in Adamuz, the Railway Accident Investigation Commission (CIAF) will play a key role. This Monday, the CIAF opened its investigation into the catastrophe and, in fact, traveled to the site of the accident on Sunday night. The CIAF is an independent body created in December 2007 and attached to the Ministry of Transport. Its main function is to carry out the "technical investigation" of serious railway accidents that occur on the railway network considered to be of general interest—that is, the network under state control—although it can also participate in the investigation of other railway accidents and incidents if deemed appropriate.

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"It's very strange that it happened on a straight stretch of road." This was one of the first assessments made on Sunday night by railway experts, train drivers, industry workers, and even the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente. The area where they collided Two trains in Adamuz (Cordoba), an accident that has already left at least 40 deadIt's flat terrain: a long straight stretch with the only element being a switch.

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For 15 years, Rubí has been demanding a second FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya) station in the north of the municipality, and this Friday marked another key step in the negotiations. The Department of Territory and the City Council met to jointly evaluate the results of the feasibility study commissioned in January, and the Generalitat's position is clear: building a second station (or stop) on the S1 line in Rubí is viable, but with conditions. Before any further study of the project is carried out, they warn, the City Council must develop the area for urban planning purposes. During the meeting—which brought together the Secretary of Mobility, Manel Nadal, the President of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat, Carles Ruiz, and a delegation from the City Council headed by the Mayor of Rubí, Ana María Martínez—the Generalitat representatives linked the profitability of this new infrastructure to the urban development of the surrounding area as outlined in the Municipal Urban Development Plan (POUM). In practice, Territori has passed the buck to the local government and has stated that once this development is completed, the preliminary construction studies will begin. Therefore, the project remains without a start date or budget. Secretary Nadal maintains that "any reasonable improvement proposal is always welcomed" and explained that, according to the feasibility analysis, the best location for this new station would be in the industrial park. "Once the actions planned in the POUM (Municipal Urban Development Plan) are carried out, the possibility of building a second station will be viable," Territori maintains. The location of this new stop, which would be in addition to the Rubí Centre station (two kilometers further south of the municipality), would improve access to the higher part of the city, which has a population of over 78,000. The new station would serve workers in the industrial park, residents of the northern neighborhoods, and those living in housing developments on the other side of the railway tracks, such as Sant Muç, which are further from the city center.

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The other day, Enric Prat de la Riba wanted to take the train to Cunit. He waited 234 hours, 36 minutes, and 10 seconds. He died, devastated. To clarify false information, Enric Prat de la Riba hasn't been a street name for over a century. On August 1st, the first president of the Mancomunitat de Catalunya and railway organizer since 1914, kicked his heels on the platform of life.

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Young people between 18 and 30 years old can now request the code of the Young Summer Travel this summer with discounts of up to 90% on trains and buses. The Spanish government approved the initiative last Tuesday for the third consecutive year, and starting June 18, the website allows you to register to enjoy the discounts.

]]> In that town, they had a ritual: they would take a chicken and prick it with a needle. The chicken would run, fly, and they would chase after it as if it were a balloon, and they would prick it, everyone following the chicken, through the streets, everyone laughing. The poor chicken would end up in agony, lame and with its eyes wide open, and finally, it would die. Then they would pluck its feathers, and each child would hang one over their bed. It was a festival of national importance. Intellectuals would write essays reflecting on the greatness of pricking the chicken. The best filmmakers would make documentaries that everyone applauded. It was an integrative ritual that taught children not to be affected by the suffering of others. Above all, they learned that there are categories and that a chicken has no business being part of it. It was an integrative ritual unique to that town, since outside of that town, mistreating animals is frowned upon, as if it were related to mistreating people.

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Aside from large doses of anger, frustration, and resignation, the repeated disruptions to the commuter rail service in Catalonia have also led many users to develop strategies for surviving the experience of taking the train every day to and from work. Below, we've compiled some of the most notable:

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The first tickets for the new direct train between Barcelona and Seville went on sale this week. This new high-speed service without transfers between Andalusia, Aragon, and Catalonia will begin on April 23, just three days before the Copa del Rey final between Barça and Madrid is played in the Andalusian city. It is added to the existing lines. From Barcelona, ​​for example, direct trains to Seville already departed daily at 8:30 a.m. and 3:17 p.m.

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Figueres has two train stations in its municipal area. The station where commuter and medium-distance trains arrive, close to the city centre, with the tracks visible next to the houses, and with several level crossings enabled for cars that want to cross it. And the high-speed station, to the west of the municipality, further out, next to Vilafant, where only fast trains arrive along a route that borders the urban area. They are two different destinations within the railway network and are not connected to each other. However, the City Council of the Empordà capital has been working for some time to unify them in a single intermodal station in Vilafant, which would unify high-speed and commuter trains in the same infrastructure. The change of location would also allow the train tracks to be removed from the centre of Figueres, a recurring demand of many Figueres residents.

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A fatal Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat accident occurred yesterday evening, as a train carrying potash derailed at the entrance of the Sant Boi FGC station and impacted against the cabin of a passenger train which was just leaving the station. Due to the impact, the passenger train's driver died and about eighty people were injured.

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