Audio recordings published by Spanish media show exchanges between train drivers and a control centre minutes before a crash near Urda that killed 69 people, according to the source. Outlets including El País and RTVE published the recordings.
In one recording, a control operator tells the driver of the Renfe train to "continue your journey and then proceed under [Lateral Signalling Block], at normal speed with normal operation." The driver asks, "At normal speed?" The operator answers, "Yes." The Lateral Signalling Block is a back-up system used when automatic signalling or data transmission fails.
In another recording, the driver of the stationary Iryo train reports that communication with the train-control system has been lost and the train is stopped in front of the entry signal at Urda. The driver is later told to resume the journey. The driver then reports that the train will not allow them to control the security system.
A moving Renfe train, carrying 397 passengers, struck the stationary Iryo train, which carried 147 passengers. Iryo said its carriages were "struck from behind." Spain's transport minister, Óscar Puente, said the decision to instruct the trains to move again without speed restrictions was "inexplicable." The report says a reported computer failure in the automatic signalling system had forced trains to halt on the stretch, and that the Renfe train was ordered to proceed in "error," according to the transport minister.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said authorities will "get to the bottom of every last detail of this tragedy." Officials are investigating the cause. Some Spanish politicians criticised the leak of the recordings. Alberto Ibáñez of the Sumar platform called it "despicable," and Irene Montero of Podemos said responsibility should not rest on one worker.