The president of the commission investigating the Adamuz accident points to a broken weld.

BarcelonaThe president of the Railway Accident Investigation Commission (CIAF)Ignacio Barrón, the railway engineer, stated this Monday that the "main cause" of the Iryo train derailment in Adamuz (Córdoba) was a broken weld, not a failure of the track itself. Technicians are focusing on this point where rails renewed in 2023 were joined to others installed in 1989, 34 years ago. "Everything seems to indicate that the main cause was the not so much the rail as a weld was broken"He assured.

Although the welding hypothesis is gaining traction, Barrón also clarified that "joining two rails from different eras is not, in principle, the cause of any kind of abnormality, provided it is taken into account, provided it is done correctly." In an interview published this Monday in Puertos, Barrón indicated that he was not surprised by the method of reusing a rail from 1989 "provided they are in good condition, of course."

However, Barrón questioned Adif's work and announced that the CIAF will ask the infrastructure manager. "In others, no," given that the network is the first high-speed rail network installed in Spain, in 1992. In this regard, he admitted that "everyone" believed that "a complete renovation had been carried out," as reported by the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, hours after the accident. Minister of TransportBoth also agreed that the investigation into the Iryo and Alvia train accident, which resulted in the deaths of 48 people, will go all the way. "We'll have to see why this weld was in that condition, and how it could have been detected," asserted the head of the CIAF. "The investigation will go far beyond simply stating: this was the cause," he explained, adding that he is confident that "more conclusive evidence" will be available this week, although he emphasized that the goal of this organization is not to point fingers but to learn from mistakes in order to avoid them.

Lane markings

In a previous appearance, Puente explained that the tracks are usually installed in sections of 200 meters (or less if it is necessary to make changes of points or crossing of tracks) and are joined together through welding. In the case of Adamuz, the crack is very close to one of these welds, but the minister emphasizes that it remains to be seen whether the weld itself failed (causing the rail to break and fall sideways) or if the problem was a "torsion [of the rail] that ended up causing the track to break in that area." In any case, he assured that the rail ended up lying flat and that "there are traces of the train passing over it on the already lying rail." Regarding how this new rail came to be connected to an older one, Puente clarified that when comprehensive renovations are carried out, it doesn't mean that absolutely all the tracks are replaced. "Comprehensive means that the line is inspected entirely and everything deemed necessary is replaced," he explained. "There are many sections of track that are maintained because it is considered that it is not necessary to replace them, and we are not the only ones who do this; it is how it is done everywhere: it is not relevant to the accident, it is standard practice," he added.

And how could it not have been detected earlier? The minister admits that this is the most "puzzling" point and has reviewed all the inspections: "Seven inspections have been carried out since the track was laid, when normally four are done per year, and two other geometric tests; ultrasonic tests and random weld inspections were also performed." In this particular section, he explained, there are more than 100 welds, because there is a switch, and all the inspections were favorable. "The track is very well tested," Puente concluded. The train involved in the accident, the Iryo, was also a new train, only three years old, he recalled.