The black boxes reveal that fifteen seconds passed between the derailment and the train crash in Adamuz.

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.

In response to this situation, the LZB system triggered an emergency braking maneuver on the Alvia train, which was traveling at 216 km/h at the time. This meant that when it presumably collided with the last cars of the Iryo train, it would have already reduced its speed to 204 km/h.

The data from the black boxes, as well as the images from the Iryo train's internal circuit, were extracted on March 5th. The CIAF (Center for Accident Investigation and Forensics) notes that three copies were made of the data obtained: two were handed over to the Judicial Police, and the third remained with the CIAF for the purpose of conducting this analysis.

The CIAF explains that the images from inside the Iryo train cars are being analyzed to more precisely define the sequence of events and confirm the black box data. This analysis provides information about the initial moments of the derailment but does not include the subsequent sequence of events. The commission notes that further data can be obtained by analyzing the remote control event log, requested from the railway manager Adif.