Train collision in Spain: When the boss of Iryo warned about breakdowns in the LZB system

The words were spoken three weeks ago. Questioned by a senator during the commission of inquiry into the Adamuz rail disaster, which left 46 dead in January 2026 in Spain, one of the managers of the private company Iryo criticized the LZB. This German rail signaling system has been used for years by the Spanish high-speed network.

On Wednesday, it was this system that broke down, causing the automatic shutdown of six trains traveling between Madrid and Andalusia. A few minutes after this breakdown, a Renfe train collided with an Iryo train from behind, leading to the death of at least 69 people. If audio recordings seem to confirm the trail of human error emanating from the control center, criticism is increasing around the LZB system.

Normally, the device should have been alerted that a train was stopped in the middle of the tracks. On Wednesday, the Renfe locomotive was able to run for twenty minutes before crashing into the carriages of the Iryo train, still immobilized in the middle of the tracks despite the driver's attempts. So inevitably, the words of the CEO of the private company resurface. Because it was on this same line that an Iryo train derailed in January, killing at least forty passengers.

If he describes the system as “relatively safe but old”, Fabrizio Favara recalls that breakdowns are frequent, explain our colleagues from El País. The company manager explains “that every time the train signal disconnects from the ground signal” used by the LZB, the train stops. Before specifying. “So he can't move and it takes time for him to reconnect and get back into service again.”

On Wednesday, the driver of the train reported that she was unable to restart the system, which prevented her from resuming forward movement. Meanwhile, the Renfe train was heading towards her and her passengers, without anyone being upset. Leading to one of the worst railway disasters in Spain. The second in a few months on the second largest high-speed network in the world (behind China). Two days after the crash, the government of Pedro Sanchez is under pressure.