The president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, has called on the central Government for "transparency, rigor and truth" after the serious railway accident recorded this Wednesday between two trains at the Urda station (Toledo). In this context, he has asked for an "immediate review of all railway tracks in Andalucía and very especially of the high-speed line that connects with Madrid".
In an institutional statement following the accident, Moreno regretted that this tragedy "once again strikes the heart of Andalucía", recalling that in January the Adamuz accident (Córdoba) had already occurred, also with fatalities.
The head of the Andalusian Executive explained that, early in the morning, he held a telephone conversation with the president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, to whom he conveyed Andalucía's full willingness to collaborate with all the necessary emergency resources "for whatever is needed and for however long is needed".
"As president of the Junta de Andalucía I promise prudence and seriousness in what falls to us in the management of this drama, and I also demand from the Government of Spain transparency, rigor and truth; what is not normal cannot be normalized".
According to Moreno, the recurrence of an accident of these characteristics "forces us to act with the utmost firmness and determination". He underlined that the Government of Spain, as responsible for the management of the railway network, "is obliged to provide information that must be clear, transparent and truthful, and to guarantee the safety of travelers".
In his intervention, he was especially forceful in stating that "The AVE Madrid-Andalucía has ceased to be a safe means of transport", recalling that on that route "at least 114 people have lost their lives in two accidents in just nine months".
For this reason, he reiterated his demand to the central Executive for "an immediate review of all railway tracks in Andalucía, and very especially of the high-speed line that connects with Madrid". He insisted that "Andalusians want to be able to travel calmly and not live with a heavy heart until our children or our loved ones call us from Madrid saying that they have arrived safely".
(FURTHER COVERAGE TO FOLLOW)