Since the high-speed line was built, 30-something years ago, we never had any problems, it worked perfectly and was fantastic, says Alberto Montavez Montes, a shop-owner opposite Córdoba city hall, where the Spanish and Andalusian flags have been hanging at half-mast. Now, though things feel different: It's not that there's psychosis, but it does make you just a bit reluctant to get on a train, without a doubt. In just a few tragic days since two high-speed trains collided in this southern region of Spain, with the loss of 45 lives, it has felt that Spain's much-vaunted rail system has been thrown into a sudden, deep crisis.
Second only to China in scale, Spain has 3,900 km (2,400 miles) of high-speed (AVE) rail and until now its national network has been admired for its efficiency and safety. In 2009, then-US president Barack Obama singled out Spain for praise when he outlined a vision for the creation of a high-speed rail network across America. The line connecting Madrid and Seville is so successful that more people travel between those cities by rail than by car and airplane combined, he said. At the time a Spanish-led consortium had just begun work on a high-speed link across the Saudi Arabian desert, confirming the country's status as a rail superpower. That reputation has been humbled this week.
Last Sunday, the back three carriages of a train run by private Italian operator Iryo derailed at high speed, along a straight stretch of track, into the path of an oncoming train run by national rail operator Renfe which bore the brunt of the crash.
A long delay between the high-speed crash and the rail and rescue services' realisation that two trains – rather than just one – had been involved has created doubts about the emergency response to such tragedies. The government, the civil guard and an independent commission all continue to investigate the Andalusia crash, although sabotage and human error appear to have been ruled out.
Meanwhile politicians, commentators, and ordinary Spaniards have been debating the possible causes as well as highlighting weaknesses in Spain's overall rail system. The amount of investment the rail network receives has come under particular scrutiny. The Socialist-led government has sought to dismiss such queries, pointing out, for example, that €700m (£605m) has been invested in updating the Madrid-Andalusia line in recent years, with the stretch of track where the accident took place included in that renovation.
However, the liberalisation of the rail sector in 2020, allowing France's Ouigo and Italy's Iryo to provide high-speed services, has also increased pressure on the system. Around 22 million travellers currently use Spain's high-speed trains each year, around double the number prior to the liberalisation, and 17 times the number of users in 1992, the year the Madrid-Seville line was inaugurated.
Figures released by the ministry show a sharp increase in maintenance spending on the rail system since Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez took office in 2018. However, other data reveals Spain was bottom of an index published by German railway association Allianz pro Schiene of spending per capita on rail infrastructure by 14 European countries in 2024. The prime minister has acknowledged that the accident in southern Spain caused irreparable damage; yet he also insisted that the high-speed network is the cause of pride for the country. Not so long ago, few Spaniards would have queried that assertion. Now, many will find it hard to agree.
