Comment by peri-cl
16 hours ago
El Pais is reporting they think it was a controller error,
https://elpais.com/espana/2026-10-28/por-que-han-chocado-dos...
An automated system[*] had failed earlier this morning, so controllers were working manually.
[*] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linienzugbeeinflussung ("LZB")
[added translation]: "The LZB safety system, which controls Spain's high-speed rail network, malfunctioned on Wednesday morning, causing about eight trains to come to a halt in the area. The control center then switched to manual control and ordered all trains to resume operation. However, the Iryo, for reasons that remain unclear, was unable to start and remained stationary. And that is where human error came into play, according to these initial hypotheses."
El Pais, English version: https://english.elpais.com/spain/2026-10-28/at-least-10-peop...
They ran the trains with no blocking, not even tokens!? In 2026!? Unbelievable.
There was a human override after all trains stopped.
Those override switches are dangerous enough to have tamper evident seals, or sometimes padlocks. And even if they are to be used, there just must be something mechanical to substitute those systems, most simply and least efficiently by physical tokens(tablets) assigned to each stations. Trains had those systems literally since late 19th century.
Passenger service with just verbal orders over a phone is simply unacceptable.
Honestly, to blame the controller after the automated system has failed is pretty low. The system does not run this way normally for good reasons, and whilst the controller maybe trained to handle the situation they won't be well practised at it.
The primary reason is computer failure followed by the decision to run the system manually.
When computers fail here in the Netherlands, trains are just stopped until they can be fixed.
In some cases, trains can be ordered to drive "at sight" -- slow enough (walking speed, basically) to stop if there's something visible on the tracks that shouldn't be there (train, car, person, cow, whatever)
All trains stopped. Then a train was cleared to continue full speed while next one was waiting on a red light.
Not just when computers fail. When union negotiations fail, when it's too cold, when it's too hot, when it snows, when nature drops a leaf on the railroad tracks, or whenever they come up with a new excuse.
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Proper training focuses specifically on those exceptional situations (like it does for airplane pilots), with strong emphasis on always falling back on safe procedures. Even so, you can't cover 100% of possibilities.