THE cross-border train which crashed in O Porriño in Galicia killing the driver, conductor and two passengers was travelling at 118 kilometres per hour in a 30-kilometre limit, according to the black box, which has been recovered from the wreckage.
Known as the 'Celtic Train', the regional line covered the route from Vigo in Galicia to Oporto in Portugal, and is a very old model – from the 1980s – using a now-outdated on-track braking system.
It sends the driver three warnings if the train is going too fast, then slows itself down if it does not register a response, unlike the more modern European-standard system which automatically pulls the train up if it is breaking the speed limit.
The driver received two warnings to slow down on the straight run, but apparently ignored them both.
When the warning, coded L1, comes through, the driver presses a button to acknowledge it to stop the flashing and beeping – and the now-deceased driver of the Celtic Train did so both times, showing that he had received the alerts.
Rail board RENFE, rail infrastructure board ADIF, the Rail Accidents Investigation Commission, engineering consultants, and Portuguese transport board Combois de Portugal have been examining the black box in the court building at O Porriño (Pontevedra province).
Trains along the Vigo-Oporto line travel at 100 kilometres per hour, but on this occasion, it had been diverted to a 'secondary' track due to works on the main line, with a speed limit of 30 kilometres per hour.
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