The Valencia metro accident occurred on this day 20 years ago, on July 3, 2006, at 1:03 PM, on Line 1 of Metrovalencia, on the curve before the Jesús station, between Plaza de España and Jesús. The train UTA 3736 derailed and overturned. 43 people died and 47 were injured. It is considered the most serious metro accident in Spain.
The initial investigation determined that the train was traveling at approximately 80 km/h, double the permitted speed at that point, and pointed to the driver - who died in the accident - as solely responsible for the incident. However, a court ruling in 2020 acknowledged safety deficiencies known to officials of Ferrocarriles de la Generalitat Valenciana (FGV).
The initial theory of the driver's responsibility was questioned for years by the accident victims: they demanded an investigation into why there were not sufficient technological systems to control the speed on that section and why preventive measures had not been taken on a curve considered to be at risk.
The Criminal Court eventually found it proven that four former FGV executives knew about the safety deficiencies of the underground section between Plaza de España and Jesús and omitted measures to neutralize the risk of derailment and overturning.
The first political response: quick closure and official version
Two weeks after the incident, an investigative commission was opened in Les Corts Valencianes which concluded in just a few days. With an absolute majority of the PP, the 2006 commission concluded that the line was safe and that the cause was excessive speed. That was the official version for years. The victims denounced that it was a false closure and began to gather on the 3rd of each month in the Plaza de la Virgen in Valencia to demand truth and accountability.
The case also became a symbol of institutional mistreatment: relatives recount that they were not listened to, that they were presented as being driven by grief or money, and that the Valencian public television did not give a voice to the association for years. The documentary by Salvados in 2013 partly broke this social and media silence and helped to reactivate public pressure.
Political responsibilities
The accident did not cause immediate political resignations. The second investigation committee, already in 2016 and with a different parliamentary balance, completely changed the narrative. It concluded that the accident was "foreseeable and avoidable", that Line 1 of Metrovalencia was not safe, and pointed to 13 responsible parties in three areas: political leaders of the Consell, FGV officials, and RTVV officials for the news coverage.
Among the names pointed out were Francisco Camps, Juan Cotino, Víctor Campos, Serafín Castellano, José Vicente Dómine, the former FGV manager Marisa Gracia, and technical officials of the public company.
There was parliamentary political pointing, but no criminal conviction of political leaders.
Trial and Convictions
The criminal route was very long. The case was dismissed and reopened several times. Finally, in 2019, oral proceedings were opened against eight former FGV officials, but the trial did not take place as such because in January 2020 there was a plea agreement.
Four former FGV executives were sentenced to one year and ten months in prison: Vicente Antonio C.B., Juan José G.B., Francisco G.S., and Sebastián A.C. The sentence found them guilty of omission or necessary cooperation in a crime against workers' rights, in conjunction with 43 homicides by gross professional negligence and 37 offenses of injury by gross professional negligence.
The other four defendants—including the former FGV manager, María Luisa/Marisa Gracia—were acquitted after the charges were dropped. The prison sentences were suspended for three and a half years, so the convicted individuals did not go to jail. FGV and Zurich were also acquitted as civilly liable in that sentence.
In the 2020 criminal agreement, no civil liability was claimed from the convicted parties because the compensation to victims and their families had already been paid. Civil liability was settled before the criminal sentence.
Consequences for Rail Safety
One of the main consequences of the accident was the approval of Law 7/2018 on Rail Safety of the Valencian Community, which was expressly justified by the serious incident on Line 1 of Metrovalencia. The regulation created the Valencian Agency for Rail Safety and provided for prevention, supervision, and technical investigation mechanisms, with the idea that safety should not rely solely on the human factor.
Even so, 20 years later, shortcomings are still being pointed out: the Valencian Agency for Railway Safety was created in 2020, but the regional Railway Accident Investigation Commission linked to the system is still not fully operational, according to information published on this anniversary.
Victims and families 20 years later
The Association of Victims of the July 3rd Metro reaches its 20th anniversary with an ambivalent feeling. On the one hand, they managed to dismantle the initial version of "it was only the driver's fault," they achieved a criminal conviction, and they obtained institutional recognition after years of struggle; on the other hand, they maintain that the reparation was incomplete and that there was never a political accountability proportional to the tragedy.
The association is considering its dissolution after this anniversary, but it wants to do so by keeping the memory of the accident alive and warning that institutional mistreatment of victims can be repeated in other tragedies.
This July 3, 2026, FGV has called for a symbolic one-minute silence at 1:00 PM in Metrovalencia and TRAM d’Alacant, the Generalitat has planned flags at half-mast, and the València City Council has rehabilitated the monument of the 43 clocks, located above the accident curve, with an intervention agreed upon with the association and the artist Anja Krakowski.