The PP-A and Vox will take this Thursday to the Plenary of the Parliament of Andalusia, in a joint debate, two non-legislative proposals relating to the railway accident in Urda (Toledo), in which the central Government is urged to ensure the "security" on the high-speed line between Andalusia and Madrid, currently interrupted.
The non-legislative proposal filed by the PP-A asks the central Executive "for the rigorous and transparent clarification" of the circumstances of the Urda incident, that "at the highest level the institutional and political responsibilities" that apply be assumed, and that, in an immediate manner, an extraordinary and independent technical audit of the state rail network be promoted, with special attention to the links from Madrid to Andalusia.
The text proposes that the Chamber express "its deepest regret for the victims of the accident" and value the work of emergency, health and security services, while also calling on the Government of Spain to guarantee comprehensive, fast and ongoing care for all affected persons, through health, psychological, legal and economic assistance, as well as the full exercise of their rights to information, help and compensation. It is proposed to extend "all of this to the victims" of the railway accident in Adamuz (Córdoba) from the past 18 January.
The initiative requires the Executive "the rigorous and transparent clarification of the circumstances of the railway accident through an exhaustive administrative investigation, without prejudice to the independent and judicial technical investigation, which makes it possible to determine the causes and to identify the responsibilities that may apply, including those arising from possible deficiencies in rail direction, management and supervision".
It is also demanded that it immediately carry out "an extraordinary and independent technical audit of the state rail network, especially of the connections with Andalusia, which evaluates the condition of the infrastructures, the safety systems, the circulation protocols and maintenance, making public its results and approving a corrective action plan with sufficient funding, identified responsible parties, verifiable deadlines and parliamentary oversight of its implementation".
The PP-A also asks that the Government fully and at the highest level assume the institutional and political responsibilities that correspond to it in the direction, planning and supervision of the state-competence rail system, without limiting the clarification of the accident to possible individual human errors or excluding examination of the organizational, technological, renewal, maintenance or supervision deficiencies that may have contributed to the incident, and that it proceed to "determine and require the administrative, disciplinary and management responsibilities that are appropriate".
Another of the demands from the conservatives is that the Executive effectively guarantee "the safety of the Andalusian citizens who use rail services, through an immediate and exhaustive review of all the state rail infrastructures that run through Andalusia, especially the high-speed line that connects to Madrid", adopting the necessary preventive and operational measures, and making the resumption of services contingent on the objective verification of safety conditions, with verifiable public information that "allows travelers to regain confidence in the rail system".
Likewise, the initiative proposes to censure "the persistent lack of renewal of the LZB rail signaling and protection system on the Madrid-Seville high-speed line, whose replacement and modernization through the deployment of the European ERTMS system was awarded by Adif Alta Velocidad in September 2021, with an execution timeline of 52 months". The Government is urged to document the reasons for the delays, the actual degree of execution and the possible responsibilities for its management, and to set a definitive and verifiable schedule for its entry into service, ensuring in the meantime the reliability of the current systems, the proper handling of incidents and strict compliance with safety protocols "without prejudging the causes of the accident under investigation".
Similarly, it is proposed to censure the "persistent lack of effective execution of state railway investments in Andalusia during the 2021-2026 period", urging the central Executive to approve a "multi-year programming of territorialized railway investments, sufficiently funded and verifiable".
Vox's "Rejection" of the Government's management
In Vox’s non-law proposal, it is requested that Parliament express a "total rejection of the management developed by the Government of Spain in railway matters, particularly with regard to the planning, preservation, maintenance, safety and modernization of infrastructures, calling for an action that places the safety of passengers and workers as an absolute priority".
Vox calls for the Executive to make available all the information available about the circumstances of the latest accidents and railway incidents, respecting the ongoing technical and judicial investigations, and that it assume "the political responsibilities that correspond once the conclusions of the investigations into railway accidents are known, guaranteeing at all times maximum transparency and cooperation with the bodies in charge of determining their causes".
In addition, it is demanded that the investment planning for preservation, maintenance, renewal and improvement of the railway infrastructure be urgently reviewed, so that the increase in train traffic goes hand in hand with "the necessary resources to preserve adequate levels of safety, reliability and service quality".
Vox’s text also asks that the central Government design and execute "an extraordinary plan for maintenance and safety of the railway network, with special attention to those sections and infrastructures that show higher levels of use, accumulation of incidents or renewal needs, establishing objective priorities and a specific schedule of actions".
Lastly, the Executive is urged to commission "an external and independent audit of the public works contracts awarded by the Ministry of Transport and Adif in Andalusia since 2018, and to submit its conclusions" to the Andalusian Parliament.