"It's incredibly strange": that's how the place where the train accident happened is described.
The Italian company Iryo claims that the train involved in the accident had undergone an inspection just four days prior.
Barcelona"It's very unusual for it to have happened on a straight stretch." This was one of the initial assessments made last night by railway experts, train drivers, industry workers, and even the Minister of Transport. The area where the train is scheduled to arrive this Sunday night... A high-speed train belonging to the Iryo company, which was traveling between Malaga and Madrid, derailed and has already left at least 39 dead.It's flat terrain: a long straight stretch with the only element being a switch.
"We're not talking about an old track, we're talking about new materials in good condition. It's very strange," insisted the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, who had already stated in the early hours of the morning that "it will take at least a month" to know exactly what happened. Hours later, the Italian operator Iryo explained that the train involved in the accident had undergone an inspection just four days prior.
How the accident happened
The first official statement about the incident came almost five hours after the accident (and after many different hypotheses). The text describes how at 7:45 p.m., the Iryo train traveling between Málaga and Atocha (Madrid) derailed in Adamuz (Córdoba), crossed onto the adjacent track, and in turn caused the derailment of another high-speed train, a Renfe Alvia, traveling in the opposite direction. As a result, the first two cars of the Alvia train were "thrown out of the train," as Puente described it, and ended up falling down a four-meter embankment. It is estimated that there were about fifty people on board, who are currently being rescued using extrication techniques. Authorities and railway companies are urging caution and asking people to avoid speculation about what might have happened. In fact, the president of Renfe, Álvaro Fernández Heredia, has even left open the question of whether or not a collision occurred between the two trains. Speaking to Cadena SER radio, Fernández Heredia said that "it cannot yet be concluded whether the Alvia train collided with the Iryo carriages or with any other element of the track." The reason he is keeping this hypothesis open is that, according to the president of the Spanish rail operator, technicians noticed a "bogey," one of the train's wheels, was missing and "has not yet been located."
What is the terrain and the rail network like at the site of the accident?
So far, what is known is that the terrain where the accident occurred, near Adamuz in the province of Córdoba, is flat and very straight. The track was upgraded a few months ago, and according to Fernández Heredia, this suggests it should be "in optimal condition." During the initial hours after the accident, railway experts pointed out that there is also a track switch in the area, an important structure within the rail network that allows trains to change tracks. Speeds are also very limited. The president of Renfe also explained that both trains were traveling below the 250 km/h speed limit in the area (210 km/h for the Iryo train and 205 km/h for the Renfe train) and asserted that human error is practically ruled out. The two trains crossed paths at the exact point of the tragic accident in a matter of 20 seconds, a fatal coincidence that prevented the activation of alarm and emergency braking systems in time to stop the trains. Approximately 500 passengers were aboard the two trains. The speed and weight of both trains were such that the President of the Regional Government of Andalusia, Juanma Moreno, explained in statements to RNE that the force of the impact was so great that bodies have been found "hundreds of meters" from the crash site.