Need for speed: how safe are high-speed trains?

The train crash near Santiago de Compostela, in Galicia, is the worst Spain has experienced since a three-train accident in a tunnel in Leon province in 1944.

Due to heavy censorship at the time, the exact death toll for the Leon disaster has never been established.

The official figure was given as 78 dead, but it is thought that as many as 250 may have been killed.

There was another serious accident in Spain 1972 when a Madrid to Cadiz express collided head-on with a local train on the outskirts of Seville in the south west of the country.

A total of 77 people died, with more than 100 injured.

The Madrid train bombings of March 2004 produced a death toll of 191 – but this was a terrorist outrage and not an accident.

The latest incident comes less than two weeks after six people were killed and scores injured in a train crash just south of Paris.

What happened in Spain?

The train, which was heading from Madrid to Ferrol, crashed off the high-speed section of tracks near Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.

After emerging from a tunnel the train derailed on the curve and sent at least six carriages flying off the tracks on Wednesday.

Sources close to the investigation say the train was travelling at over twice the speed limit on a sharp curve.

Jeremy Acklam from the Institution of Engineering and Technology, said “it’s clear that the train was travelling too fast for the curve on which it derailed.”

He added: “The questions is, why was it going too fast?

“Was it because the system advising the driver of the required speed failed? Or was it because the train brakes failed? Or was it because the driver ignored the instruction to slow down until it was too late? The investigation will tell us this soon.”

The train involved in the accident was a bi-mode train capable of running on electrified high-speed lines as well as operating independently on non-electrified tracks.

Despite concerns about high speed trains, Mr Acklam said: “Rail continues to be the safest form of land transport, even after this terrible tragedy in Spain”.

He added: “At higher speeds, the train speed is automatically controlled by the on-board computers and the signalling system – just like a modern aircraft flies itself in regular flight.

“The main issue when driving a high speed train away from the automatic controls of a high-speed track (like at Santiago de Compostela) is to ensure that the driver is not distracted from carrying out his/her duties diligently and that their training is up to date.”

Talking about the dramatic CCTV footage that emerged today showing the train derailment, Mr Acklam said: “Fast trains can go round bends very safely, providing they do not exceed the speed limit for the bend.

“As you can see in the video, if the speed limit is exceeded significantly, the weight of the train is no longer enough to hold it on the track and then a devastating derailment is the most likely outcome, which is what has happened in this tragic crash.”

Investigation

Philippa Oldham, head of transport at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said accident investigators “will be looking at the role of the signalling and speed advice system, as well as the role of the driver.”

She added: “They will also be investigating whether there were any other technical or component causes like rail breakages, train defects or damage caused by vandalism that could have contributed to the accident.

“Another key issue which will need to be investigated is the performance of the train vehicles and whether any design improvements or adjustments could have protected more people from harm.

“Rail travel remains one of the safest ways to travel, with far fewer deaths and injuries than other forms of transport such as car travel. The UK also has the joint-safest railway safety record in Europe.”

Rescue workers inspect the wreckage of the derailed intercity train at the Bretigny-sur-Orge station near Paris

Human error?

Peter Sheppard, from the UK’s Institution of Engineering and Technology, said: “Railways generally have a very high safety record, but it is disappointing to see two recent major incidents (France and Spain) where there has been a significant loss of life.

“However – and this is based on news reports only – it would seem that both are as a result of human error and not the technology involved.”

He went on: “The former case (France) appears to be a maintenance issue, the latter case (Spain), based on the first reports, seems to be as a result of a significant over-speed -although there could well be other factors as what is perceived by passengers is sometimes different to reality.

“What has to happen when the inquiries are complete is to determine if there is any methods by which technology could have intervened, prevented or given early warning of these accidents and either supported the infrastructure maintenance teams or advised/intervened in the cab.”

Keith Barrow, associate editor of International Railway Journal, added: “Spanish railways’ safety record is pretty good.

“Major accidents have been extremely rare. A lot of money has been poured into the system and passenger numbers were rising before the 2008 recession, which has hit Spain particularly badly.

“There has been a big reduction in fares lately to try to get more passengers to use the railways. A number of lines have been electrified and there are plans to allow private companies to operate services.”

He added: “Investigators will want to recover the data recorder from the train’s cab so they can establish just what happened.

“People in Spain will obviously be shocked by what has happened. It’s the worst crash they have had in many years. But I don’t think people will be put off travelling by train.”