Spain Blames Traffic Control Errors for 69-Death Train Crash
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Oct 30
Spain Blames Traffic Control Errors for 69-Death Train Crash
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 30
Summary
At least 69 people were killed after controllers cleared a train traveling about 100 mph toward another train that was stopped, Transport Minister Óscar Puente said Friday.
For 17 minutes, operators at a Madrid control center could see one train moving and the other stationary on their screens but took no action to stop the collision, according to Puente.
Puente said a judge will investigate several “inexplicable” controller errors, including allowing high-speed movement despite a technical problem, and said he does not plan to resign.
The Madrid center had taken over train movements after an aging automatic safety system shut down across part of central Spain; dozens remain hospitalized, including 17 in intensive care.
The wreck on Wednesday was Spain’s deadliest rail crash in more than a decade and the second deadly train crash in under a year, deepening scrutiny of the rail system.