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| European Rail Crashes Show Gaps in an Increasingly Precarious System | European Rail Crashes Show Gaps in an Increasingly Precarious System |
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| PARIS — In the wake of a fiery train crash this summer in northern Spain that killed 79 people, investigators, survivors and passengers are demanding to know why the rail line entrusted the train’s safety to a sole driver who had publicly boasted about past speeding and was talking on a mobile phone seconds before the derailment. | |
| But even as the crash, near Santiago de Compostela on July 24, has focused attention on potential management lapses at the Spanish rail network, it was just one in a recent spate of deadly accidents involving passenger and freight trains in Belgium, France, Spain and Switzerland. Those accidents have raised troubling questions about a European rail network that has been the envy of much of the world. | |
| Over the past 12 years, the European Union has pushed to transform national rail systems into a single market as a critical element of the Continent’s economic and political integration. But the crashes have revealed many of the same lapses in oversight that have bedeviled other efforts at cohesion, including monetary union and common food safety policies. | Over the past 12 years, the European Union has pushed to transform national rail systems into a single market as a critical element of the Continent’s economic and political integration. But the crashes have revealed many of the same lapses in oversight that have bedeviled other efforts at cohesion, including monetary union and common food safety policies. |
| Starting next year, the European Union plans to spend $30 billion in 28 countries on transportation, much of it on rail modernization, to integrate about 20 intersecting national rail networks. Yet even after years of such investment, member states have struggled to put in place a sophisticated, unified system as state-owned monopolies gave way to private, competing train operators. | Starting next year, the European Union plans to spend $30 billion in 28 countries on transportation, much of it on rail modernization, to integrate about 20 intersecting national rail networks. Yet even after years of such investment, member states have struggled to put in place a sophisticated, unified system as state-owned monopolies gave way to private, competing train operators. |
| The result is a sometimes confused patchwork of old and new systems, where high-speed 21st-century trains often run on 19th-century rails made for slower trains and less traffic. The most advanced automatic braking systems are frequently absent at important junctures, while more responsibility for safety falls on drivers who have been left alone in the cab as budget cuts reduce train employees. | |
| While each of the recent crashes in Europe had its own circumstances, these factors were shared, according to different countries’ trade unions, which contend that the accidents reveal not so much the failings of any one driver than those of an increasingly precarious system. | While each of the recent crashes in Europe had its own circumstances, these factors were shared, according to different countries’ trade unions, which contend that the accidents reveal not so much the failings of any one driver than those of an increasingly precarious system. |
| “This is a system that is more vulnerable from our point of view; it’s totally in transition, changing from an old system to a new system,” said Sabine Trier, the deputy general secretary of the European Transport Workers’ Federation. “A series of accidents in such a short period of time and in countries that normally have sophisticated systems raises a lot of questions.” | “This is a system that is more vulnerable from our point of view; it’s totally in transition, changing from an old system to a new system,” said Sabine Trier, the deputy general secretary of the European Transport Workers’ Federation. “A series of accidents in such a short period of time and in countries that normally have sophisticated systems raises a lot of questions.” |
| She added: “In the 10 years to create a single, competitive market, we’ve seen old state-owned companies strive to become more productive. What we have experienced over a long period is a reduction of personnel to increase productivity.” | She added: “In the 10 years to create a single, competitive market, we’ve seen old state-owned companies strive to become more productive. What we have experienced over a long period is a reduction of personnel to increase productivity.” |
| Train officials and some rail experts, however, say the technology and staffing in place are sufficient, pointing to a safety record that has significantly reduced passenger deaths since the 1980s. For them, the series of recent accidents is a regrettable coincidence. | |
| “The train record of safety in Europe is constantly improving,” said Jens Engelmann, head of the directorate for the European Railway Agency, which monitors and sets train safety standards. “The systems that are in place are working well. There is no link between the accidents as far as we can say for the moment.” | “The train record of safety in Europe is constantly improving,” said Jens Engelmann, head of the directorate for the European Railway Agency, which monitors and sets train safety standards. “The systems that are in place are working well. There is no link between the accidents as far as we can say for the moment.” |
| Others are less convinced, and there is growing public pressure to install the latest automatic braking technology, as well as calls to reverse some staff cuts that have left drivers alone in the cab and complaining of longer hours that can lead to human error. | Others are less convinced, and there is growing public pressure to install the latest automatic braking technology, as well as calls to reverse some staff cuts that have left drivers alone in the cab and complaining of longer hours that can lead to human error. |
| “There used to be a station agent and someone on the track and the driver,” said Giorgio Tuti, the president of the Swiss transportation union SEV. “Now there is only the driver on the train, and no one accompanies him. It’s been an evolution that started in the 1990s when they eliminated track employees.” | “There used to be a station agent and someone on the track and the driver,” said Giorgio Tuti, the president of the Swiss transportation union SEV. “Now there is only the driver on the train, and no one accompanies him. It’s been an evolution that started in the 1990s when they eliminated track employees.” |
| He added: “It’s too much risk to let all the monitoring be done by the train driver, and accidents will happen. It’s almost the same in Spain. You have a high-speed train, but they were still using an old system.” | He added: “It’s too much risk to let all the monitoring be done by the train driver, and accidents will happen. It’s almost the same in Spain. You have a high-speed train, but they were still using an old system.” |
| Many national lines rely on outmoded systems that date back to a time when there was less traffic, as in the case of the speeding train in northern Spain. | Many national lines rely on outmoded systems that date back to a time when there was less traffic, as in the case of the speeding train in northern Spain. |
| Leaked documents from the crash investigation, published last week by El País, a Spanish newspaper, indicate that an alert went off twice before the derailment but that the train’s unsophisticated automatic braking system could only partly slow the train. | |
| That is where the European Union’s transnational signaling technology — the European Train Control System — is supposed to play a critical role. The concept of that system is basic: information is electronically transmitted from the track to the train to an onboard computer that calculates the maximum permitted speed and that can automatically slow a train. | That is where the European Union’s transnational signaling technology — the European Train Control System — is supposed to play a critical role. The concept of that system is basic: information is electronically transmitted from the track to the train to an onboard computer that calculates the maximum permitted speed and that can automatically slow a train. |
| But that sophisticated braking system was not in place on the curve where the Santiago de Compostela train crashed because the new system could not be installed on a conventional part of the track, top rail officials told Madrid lawmakers in August. | But that sophisticated braking system was not in place on the curve where the Santiago de Compostela train crashed because the new system could not be installed on a conventional part of the track, top rail officials told Madrid lawmakers in August. |
| A Spanish judge, Luis Aláez, is investigating why the track and the train were not equipped with the latest technology. The judge has already charged the driver, Francisco José Garzón Amo, with reckless homicide after he admitted to operating the train at 179 kilometers per hour, or 111 miles per hour, well beyond the posted limit of 80 kilometers per hour. | |
| Government officials in Spain have announced a safety review with preliminary measures, including banning the use of cellphones by drivers, and they are discussing a proposal for a system of video cameras trained on the operators. Changes are also being considered elsewhere, though not quickly enough in the view of many train unions and consumer groups. | Government officials in Spain have announced a safety review with preliminary measures, including banning the use of cellphones by drivers, and they are discussing a proposal for a system of video cameras trained on the operators. Changes are also being considered elsewhere, though not quickly enough in the view of many train unions and consumer groups. |
| A loose rail joint was blamed for a French passenger crash on July 12 in the southern suburbs of Paris that killed seven, prompting President François Hollande to promise more resources for the upkeep of regional trains. But last week, French train unions complained publicly about continuing staff reductions, increasing traffic and deteriorating rail lines. | |
| After a cargo train loaded with toxic chemicals derailed in a fiery crash in May in Belgium, killing one, the local news media reported that the driver was traveling at more than double the maximum speed of 40 kilometers an hour. Train unions there have also demanded the latest automatic braking technology. | |
| In western Switzerland, two passenger trains collided July 29 when one passed a red light, killing a driver. The Swiss lines use a system that dates back to 1933 and halts a train only after it has run a red light. The Swiss rail company is now considering hastening the installation of the automatic braking system. The current plan to equip lines by 2035 comes at a steep cost, estimated at more than $2.6 billion. | |
| That is not soon enough for Swiss train drivers who sounded engine whistles last month in a haunting blast as a tribute to the train driver who was killed. Swiss railway unions are now pressing for a “second set of eyes” or a backup employee on the train or at the station who can also issue warnings. | That is not soon enough for Swiss train drivers who sounded engine whistles last month in a haunting blast as a tribute to the train driver who was killed. Swiss railway unions are now pressing for a “second set of eyes” or a backup employee on the train or at the station who can also issue warnings. |
| In Spain, María Teresa Gómez-Limón, a Madrid lawmaker who survived the Santiago de Compostela crash, said she was deeply angry at politicians and rail executives who cut ribbons for the high-speed line but failed to install a sophisticated automatic braking system. | In Spain, María Teresa Gómez-Limón, a Madrid lawmaker who survived the Santiago de Compostela crash, said she was deeply angry at politicians and rail executives who cut ribbons for the high-speed line but failed to install a sophisticated automatic braking system. |
| “I bought a ticket for a train with all their guarantees about the security of high-speed trains, and it was a lie — I feel betrayed,” said Ms. Gómez-Limón, who has called for the resignation of top rail officials in the crash, which also wounded 147 people. “How can they entrust the safety of 200 passengers with only one driver? When you fly in a plane, the pilot has an assistant and automatic technology.” | “I bought a ticket for a train with all their guarantees about the security of high-speed trains, and it was a lie — I feel betrayed,” said Ms. Gómez-Limón, who has called for the resignation of top rail officials in the crash, which also wounded 147 people. “How can they entrust the safety of 200 passengers with only one driver? When you fly in a plane, the pilot has an assistant and automatic technology.” |