Details of the accident that occurred yesterday at 08:54 local time in Spain, when two high-speed trains collided, began to emerge.
El Paris, one of Spain's most important newspapers, shared the recordings of the conversation between the train drivers and the Madrid Atocha Main Station unit manager during the accident in which 68 people lost their lives and more than 50 passengers were injured, 15 of them seriously.
Accordingly, a system failure occurred at Urda Train Station, one of the checkpoints of the Madrid-Andalusia line. Thereupon, all trains on the railway along the route stopped.
Due to system failure, Madrid Atocha Main Control Center took over the Urda Train Station. According to the audio recordings, two conversations took place between the driver of the stationary Iryo train and the control operator in Atocha, and one conversation took place between the driver of the AVE train coming from behind and the same control operator.
The technician in charge at Atocha ordered the AVE train, which was 25 kilometers behind the Iryo train, to continue in "normal course" and not "within visual range" with a speed limit of 40 kilometers per hour as stated in the protocol. He gave this order without checking whether there was another train ahead of them blocking the line.
The engineer of the Iryo train also received the order to continue "normal driving", but after 7 minutes he reported that the train was still stopped because he could not restart it. However, despite this, the AVE train was instructed to "Continue at normal speed".
A terrible accident occurred because no warning was given in the 5 minutes from the notification that the Iryo engineer was still standing until the moment of impact.
The transcript of the speeches in El Pais newspaper was given as follows. Atocha Center meeting with AVE Machinist:
- Train driver number 2080. Turn LZB off and on again. Keep driving. Then continue driving at normal speed under the protection of BSL
-At normal speed?
-Yes.
Atocha Center Meeting with Iryo: 08.41: First meeting with Iryo:
-Good morning, Atocha. I experienced signal loss while cruising in BSL. The car in front of me is traveling at over 200 in lane 113. But I couldn't get the signal. I am at a standstill. At the entrance to Urda.
Statements were taken from the officers at Atocha Main Center
Statements were taken from all employees working at the ADIF railways main control center at Atocha train station in Madrid, whose grave fault was revealed in the train accident.
Search and rescue efforts continued throughout the night. Construction equipment and nearly a thousand personnel searched for bodies and injured people in train wagons in the illuminated accident area.
While all means including helicopters, drones and search dogs were used, it was announced that the driver on the AVE high-speed train who lost his life was Antanio Acedo Meneses.
It was stated that the grandfather and father of the 36-year-old machinist were railway employees, so he chose to become a machinist.
It was stated that trainee machinist David Cabanas died in the accident.
Contact centers for families were established in the crash area and the city of Toledo. However, relatives of the accident victims who are outside Spain or far from the accident site are calling on social media to reach their acquaintances.
Renfe, one of the companies involved in the accident, stopped selling tickets for Madrid-Andalusia train services until December.
