The Independent Administrative Authority for Technical Investigation of Railway, Maritime and Civil Aviation Accidents and Incidents (AITAT) has issued this Thursday a preliminary safety recommendation in which it urges the State Railway Safety Agency (AESF) and Adif to implement mechanisms capable of identifying complete rail breaks on high-speed lines before the next train runs.
This proposal is based on the investigation of the railway accident recorded on January 18, 2026 in Adamuz (Córdoba), where the derailment of an Iryo train and its subsequent collision with a Renfe Viajeros Alvia showed that a complete fracture of the track remained undetected for nearly a day while trains continued to pass through the damaged section.
According to the AITAT document, the derailment of Iryo train 6189, which covered the Málaga María Zambrano-Madrid Puerta de Atocha service, occurred when approaching the switch points of the Adamuz station. This situation caused the encroachment onto the gauge of the adjacent track and the consequent impact with Alvia 2384, which was traveling the route Madrid Puerta de Atocha-Huelva.
Technical studies have determined that the physical break of the rail remained hidden for about 22 hours, during which 47 trains passed over the affected point before the accident occurred.
Investigators have found impact marks on the wheel tread bands of several trains that passed previously and have checked in the records of the Maintenance Assistance System (SAM) a drop in voltage at 21:47 on January 17, 2026 after the passage of train 2211.
The AITAT has stated that track circuits do not ensure the “specific detection” of complete breaks on the Madrid–Sevilla high-speed line. On this line, it has admitted that the replacement carried out in 2024 of the old FTG S equipment by the new TTC has involved a technological modernization, although it has not eliminated the limitations arising from the return of traction current through the guard cable in the outer rail.
The report recalls that the risk matrix for the 2024 renovation project had already classified this eventuality with a severity of "catastrophic," an "occasional" frequency, and an "intolerable" acceptability, and emphasizes that Adif's preventive inspections and auscultations do not represent a sufficient barrier to identify the fracture once it has occurred.
To support the need to incorporate complementary technological solutions, the document includes data provided by Adif that record 44 full rail breaks on the Spanish high-speed rail network since 2017.
Of all these incidents, the track circuits have only detected 18 cases (41%), while the infrastructure maintenance staff has located 17 breaks (39%) and the train drivers have reported nine of them (20%).