A train disaster in Spain in which 46 people died was caused by a break in the railway track that had already occurred and been recorded a day earlier but did not trigger an alarm.
Unnoticed
Investigations by the Spanish police show that the rail broke on January 17, a day before the accident. This break was later precisely identified by investigators analyzing the incident. However, the defect went unnoticed in practice.
Although the train monitoring system recorded a deviation (less tension, lower voltage), this did not lead to a warning. Multiple reports describe that an electrical malfunction was logged that corresponds to a break in the rail.
Promotion
The detection system did not raise an alarm because it was not configured to do so, partly due to doubts about the reliability of such signals.
Adjacent track
The disaster occurred on January 18 in Andalusia. A train derailed because of the damaged rail and ended up on an adjacent track. Shortly after, a second train, traveling at high speed, crashed into the derailed train. This collision rapidly increased the number of casualties and caused severe damage.
Forty-six people died in the accident. This ranks the disaster among the most serious train accidents in Europe this century.
Court
The Guardia Civil carried out the investigation into the cause. The findings have been compiled in a report that has been submitted to the court investigating the accident.
Earlier research by the Spanish railway accident board CIAF had already indicated possible cracks in the rail before the accident. The new findings confirm that the break existed before the disaster and played a central role.