Adamuz accident victims ask Carlos Cuerpo for a state pact on rail safety

Meeting with the new transport chief

The Association of Victims of the Adamuz Derailment (AVDA) met First Vice President Carlos Cuerpo on Friday, 6 November. The group presented an 11-point list of demands that it had first submitted to Óscar Puente, who resigned as transport minister. Cuerpo, who has also taken on the transport portfolio, committed to set up a victims' support office, change the insurance arrangements that cover people hurt in accidents, and draft media protocols for covering such cases respectfully, according to association president Mario Samper. Government sources told RTVE that the office would act as a defender of the victims and would be shaped together with the associations. Samper said Cuerpo also agreed to review the 11 points.

The pact and the meeting with Sánchez

The association also presented its proposal for a State Pact on Rail Safety, Victims' Care and Justice, which was registered in the Congress of Deputies on Thursday, 5 November. Samper said the group is meeting political parties one by one and that some have already confirmed their support. Cuerpo committed to say during the day when Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez could meet the association, but Samper said no promise on that meeting had yet been made. He said the association would urge parties not to use the tragedy during the election period. Samper described Cuerpo as more receptive than his predecessor, though he said the bar had been very low.

“We do not yet have the promise on the table, but we understand that no political party will refuse something so important for citizens.”

Investigation resources

The victims say the investigation of the two accidents lacks resources. According to reporting by EL MUNDO, the Independent Administrative Authority for Technical Investigation of Accidents (AITAT), created by Puente in 2023, took over the CIAF's functions and cases in July 2026. The authority has only three investigators for both the Adamuz and Urda accidents. Samper said one investigator was withdrawn, a replacement joined who was absent from the start, and then one was moved from Adamuz to Urda. The association reported this to the minister, but Cuerpo did not commit to any specific measure.

“We had an eleven-point document that we gave Minister Puente in March, and he has not fixed any of them.”

The week of meetings with rail-system actors began with the resignation of Adif president Pedro Marco de la Peña, submitted on Wednesday, 4 November.

Ignored safety recommendations

EL CONFIDENCIAL reported that the Rail Accident Investigation Commission (CIAF) issued 96 recommendations between José Luis Ábalos taking over transport in 2018 and Puente's departure. According to the outlet's count, governments implemented only 37 of them, leaving 59 ignored, or 61%. The Spanish Rail Safety Agency (AESF) determines whether a recommendation has been carried out.

Issued96

Implemented37

Ignored59

Issued

96 recommendations

Implemented

37 recommendations

Ignored

59 recommendations

Data from the article text

The pending share varies sharply by year of issue. Of the 26 recommendations from 2016, 12% remain pending, while 50% of those from 2018 and 31% from 2019 are still outstanding. The pending share is 36% for 2020, 74% for 2021 and 83% for 2023. None of the 10 recommendations issued in 2024 has been carried out.

201612%

201850%

201931%

202036%

202174%

202383%

2016

12 %

2018

50 %

2019

31 %

2020

36 %

2021

74 %

2023

83 %

Data from the article text

Aid for Urda victims

Victims of the Urda accident in Toledo can now apply for aid approved by the Council of Ministers. The application window opened on Friday, 6 November, and runs for three months until 5 February, although the government may extend it or extend it at the request of those affected. El País reported that the mechanism repeats the one activated after the Adamuz and Gelida (Barcelona) accidents, and is meant to ease economic consequences while responsibilities are determined. The Urda accident killed 69 people and is the second on the same high-speed line in about 10 months. The Adamuz collision on 18 January killed 46 people.