The Minister of Development, Ana Pastor, has appeared before the Decvelpment Commission of the Congress of Deputies to answer questions about what her Department is doing in the wake of the tragic rail crash in Santiago de Compostela in which 79 people lost their lives.
The Minister stated that her Department is conducting a ‘comprehensive review’ of speed limits across the entire rail network with the aim of ‘being able to make decisions’ that can ‘improve safety’. She said the main objective was to ‘learn the truth’ about the accident in order to prevent it happening again and that her Department was cooperating fully with the judicial and technical investigations.
Ana Pastor also listed a number of proposals to improve the rail network which will come under consideration, these being led by a reduction in speed limits and a scaling of speeds.
Other proposals which may be considered are:
Review of the requirements for drivers of trains, increased medical and psychological testing, formalised protocols and improving systems for recording driver activity.
Improved speed limit signalling on sections of track where a ‘significant’ reduction in speed is required, perhaps with the use of satellite signalling.
Introduction of a unique and integrated hands-free communication system, increased control over the ‘black boxes’, better protection of baggage in the carriages, better access controls to identify passengers and the assigning of a free ticket to children under four years of age.
The Minister is also looking at a Royal Decree approving assistance to victims of rail accidents.