Preliminary report: Renfe collided with Iryo at up to 200 km/h — The Independent

A passenger train operated by the state-owned company Renfe collided with a stationary train operated by Iryo near the town of Urda in central Spain while travelling at a speed of between 160 and 200 km/h. At least 69 people were killed in the accident on Wednesday, The Independent reports.

Preliminary investigation data

In its preliminary report, the independent technical body for investigating accidents and incidents, AITAT, estimated the speed of the Renfe train at the moment of impact at between 160 and 200 km/h. The exact figure can be established after data from the onboard recorder are obtained.

The Civil Guard received 64 missing persons reports. It is unknown how many of these people may be among the bodies that have not yet been identified. Esther Padilla, spokesperson for the government of the Castilla-La Mancha region, said that 49 autopsies had been conducted. Five victims were identified — three women and two men.

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Signalling failure and dispatcher’s actions

The collision occurred after a failure of the automatic signalling system, which caused several trains to stop automatically. Control was then taken over by the central dispatch centre in Madrid.

According to Transport Minister Óscar Puente, the Renfe train was allowed to continue despite an Iryo train standing ahead. An audio recording of the dispatcher’s communications with train drivers, obtained by El País, indicates that Renfe was given permission to travel at normal speed. The minister said that under such circumstances the protocol required a speed limit of 40 km/h, and that the Iryo train should have departed first.

There were 379 passengers and seven crew members on the Renfe train, while the Iryo train carried 147 passengers and five crew members. The preliminary AITAT report states that the sequence of malfunctions, instructions and actions led to the collision in the absence of the necessary safety barriers.