Dawn

Dawn

Thursday, July 25, 2013

THE SPANISH TRAIN TRAGEDY 8

Some sort of process has begun against one of the two drivers, even though he is still in hospital. In Spanish, he is now 'imputado'. It's not clear that there's a direct equivalent in Anglo-Saxon legal systems. The French24 TV channel this evening said that the driver had been 'taken into custody', which is as close as you can get to being arrested, I feel. Either way, the man will be questioned not only by the police but also by a judge, at the same time, I believe.

The following points emerged from an interview on France24 with a Spanish rail engineer:-

  • The train did not have an automatic braking system going through this curve.
  • An automatic system - the ERMS - is used on the long stretch from Ourense to Santiago but not for the last 3-4km.
  • An automatic system monitors a train continuously and stops the train the second it exceeds the correct speed.
  • A non-automatic system only monitors the speed as the train goes past sensors.
  • The curve exists because it's close to a residential area. Such curves are not uncommon when high-speed trains come into cities. As it's unrealistic to avoid them, it's essential to protect passengers via an automatic braking system. This was not in place at this curve.
  • Railway accidents rarely have just one cause. Usually there's a series of them.
I'm not clear why/how a train could have an automatic system for part of its journey and then only a non-automatic system once it enters urban areas. Perhaps someone could explain. I'm assuming that the infrastructure wasn't in place on the tracks.

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