Spain’s Railway Accident Investigation Commission (CIAF) is continuing its work to establish the causes of the serious accident involving two trains near Adamuz, in the province of Córdoba, on 18 January. After publishing a first provisional report, the commission has moved into a new phase involving technical tests on the material, including destructive tests, alongside the analysis of documents.
The commission hopes to be able to shed light on what happened by June, although its final report, with definitive conclusions, will take longer.
The main line of inquiry
The main — though not the only — line of investigation concerns a rail that broke at a weld. The CIAF has formally asked Adif, the state rail infrastructure manager, and other parties for information on questions including:
- how the weld was carried out;
- whether there could have been air pockets or impurities in the weld;
- why a section of rail had been cut and rejoined;
- the renewal works carried out on the Madrid–Seville high-speed line after three decades in service.
Iryo and Renfe
The two operators involved, Iryo and Renfe, have also been asked to respond to the commission’s technical questions.
The black boxes
Data from the trains’ event recorders — their “black boxes” — is key to reconstructing the sequence of events, but its analysis requires authorisation from the court in Montoro, which is handling the judicial investigation. The judge has not declared the proceedings secret.
The CIAF’s president, Iñaki Barrón, has stressed that all the evidence is being handled under strict chain-of-custody procedures supervised by the court.
Destructive tests
Some tests will require pieces of the rail to be cut or broken in certified laboratories to determine how and why the failure occurred — whether from a flaw in the steel, metal fatigue or a defect in the welding process. Investigators will also review the records of the welding work, including who carried it out and how it was inspected.
The sequence of events
Investigators are also reconstructing how the two trains came to be involved: the time between the derailment of the first train and the arrival of the second on the adjacent track, the speeds involved and the braking distances.
The victims
The accident caused 46 deaths, making it one of the worst rail disasters in Spain’s recent history. Families have asked for answers, and the investigation has become the subject of intense political debate. The CIAF insists it is focusing on its technical work, which will run in parallel with the criminal investigation in Córdoba.
