WHY did Francisco José Garzón, a train driver with 30 years’ experience, hit a bend at 190 kilometres per hour when the speed limit was 80 km/h? Did he ignore the automated warnings? Or did his train’s alert system fail at a critical time?
An inquiry is under way into the derailing of the packed train, which killed 79 people in north-west Spain on 24 July. Garzón has admitted to “confusion” over the train’s speed and, though freed on bail, is facing 79 charges of negligent homicide.
One focus of the investigation will be the fact that the crash took place at a point where one safety system hands over to another – from one that controls the train’s speed to one that does not. On high-speed sections, the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) intervenes wirelessly to ensure a train slows down if alerts are ignored.
“ERTMS has all sorts of measures that prevent trains going over speed and will eventually be fitted over the whole route from Santiago to Madrid,” says Roger Kemp, a rail safety engineer at Lancaster University, UK. “But it is not a finished project.”
So 4 kilometres from Santiago de Compostela, the line switches to a slower section without ERTMS. Instead, an older system advises the driver of the correct speed – but cannot intervene so long as the driver has acknowledged its alert.
Investigators will now examine the train’s electronic systems to check for technical problems with the switchover.
This article appeared in print under the headline “Spanish rail inquiry begins”