Gone are the days when the train “lived its best moment.” Also in which Urda (Toledo) was known only as a pilgrimage center. It has now become the epicenter of Spain's latest railway disaster. According to the latest balance of victims - with 68 deaths -, Urda is the symbol of the third train accident with the most deaths in Spain since 1970, behind Angrois (80) and El Cuervo (76).
And Urda (2,500 inhabitants) is one of the towns in Toledo that stands out the most for its religious heritage, the reference for so many devotees in the community. The "Holy Christ of Urda" sticker, in yellow letters on a red background and in a black frame, is common on the rear window of cars, also a common detail in many taxis in large Spanish cities, where immigrants from La Mancha took it. And that tradition is connected with the Cathedral of Santa María de Toledo - Primate Cathedral because it is historically the highest ecclesiastical authority in the country -, considered the spiritual heart of Spain and the axis of important routes of devotion. Those who make the annual pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Christ of Urda will be able to confirm this. Precisely in September it was 15 years since the first pilgrimage between the Cathedral of Toledo and the Christ of Urda.
That story now competes with the memory of this October 28, of enormous chaos: sirens, ambulances, firefighters, civil guard... All emergency services coordinated in the face of national disgrace. Less than 10 months have passed since the Adamuz train accident, where 46 people lost their lives. A climate of absolute drama was felt this Wednesday in the place where the wagons were left lying. Several deceased were lying on the ground covered with sheets. Meanwhile, emergency services transported the injured by land and air. The luckiest ones left on their own, dragging suitcases. What they experienced will never be forgotten.
Satur, the neighbor of the only house near the scene of the accident, claimed that everything echoed from his home: “Like a bomb; When I looked out everything was covered in dust. "A disgrace." Meanwhile, from inside... «We were standing and there was a very strong impact, we crashed into the seat in front of us. We didn't understand what was happening," says Tangui Binier (22 years old).
He was traveling in car 8 of the Iryo with his father, who, kneeling on the side of the road and with glassy eyes, could not believe what he experienced. «I don't think I can talk about this. "My son can tell you, he took the fire extinguisher." After the impact, the passengers of the Iryo - it left at 7:54 in the morning, with 147 passengers - saw "the cables that were falling and smoke began to come out," he details. «We went out and tried to help the people who were left inside. We had to take out a lot of people with broken ribs, someone without an ankle. "I've seen a lot of pretty difficult things today."
Just three days ago, Óscar Puente, Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, had recognized during the New Economy Forum that the improvement of the railway network and the quality of service constitutes the "most urgent and pressing" problem of his ministry. He blamed the "dribble" and "too many problems" supply of new rolling stock ordered in previous mandates, but celebrated the system's punctuality levels. However, this Wednesday he approached Urda without defending anything in front of the press; while the 1.8 billion euros annually that need to be dedicated exclusively to the conservation of railway infrastructure become heavier.
