Work to identify victims of the train accident in Spain continues, according to police, as the death toll rises to 69 – follow live

Image source, Reuters

Audio recordings published by Spanish media outlets, including El Pais and RTVE, reveal conversations that took place between the train’s two drivers and the Spanish capital’s control center before the accident.

In one recording, a control center operator asks the Renfe driver to resume his journey at normal speed after some technical problems.

“Continue your journey then pass under (Side Signal Block), at normal speed and normal operation,” the control center operator tells the driver.

The driver responds: “At normal speed? To which the controller said: “Yes”.

The side signal block is a backup or alternative train system used in the event of a failure of the automatic signaling or data transmission system.

Later, the driver of the other train Iryo says in another audio recording that communication with the train’s control system has been lost and that they are stopped at Urda.

The train “is stopped in front of the entry signal at Urda”, the driver indicates to the operator of the control center. After a series of exchanges, the driver is then asked to “resume the journey” as normal.

The Iryo driver then contacted the control center again, according to a later recording, saying he could not start the train. “The train doesn’t allow me to control the (safety) system. That’s why I’m always stopped in front of the entry signal,” they say.

This latter recording suggests that the controller had been informed that the Iryo train remained stationary as the Renfe train approached.