Spain approves decree letting train drivers stop trains over serious imminent safety risks

What the decree does

The Council of Ministers approved on Tuesday, 10 November, an urgent royal decree-law on operational safety in rail transport and social protection for railway staff. Its central provision lets train drivers stop a train, or refuse to start one, when they judge there is a serious and imminent risk to safety. Such a decision must be reported immediately to the relevant officials. Workers acting within legal limits are protected against labour reprisals or sanctions, but that protection does not cover wilful misconduct, bad faith or gross negligence. The decree does not require drivers to run trains in unsafe conditions, and procedures for incidents already existed, so the new element is the express protection for those who raise alarms. Adif controllers are among the safety staff covered, according to the State Rail Safety Agency (AESF).

Driving time and inspection powers

The text spells out which periods count as driving time. Manoeuvres that involve moving the vehicle count, as do interruptions in which the driver remains responsible for the vehicle. Any pause shorter than 45 minutes between the end of a driving activity and its resumption by the same driver is counted in full, even when the driver has been relieved of responsibility or assigned other tasks. Stops of 45 minutes or more during tests, trials, inspections or checks also count. Time spent on networks other than the Red Ferroviaria de Interes General is included, and when two workers drive together, one on the train and one on the track, the time accrues to both at once.

The AESF gets stronger inspection powers. Any person or company subject to supervision must give supervisory staff access to its facilities and equipment, and railway undertakings must open their installations, rolling stock and equipment when an inspection requires it. The decree also introduces just culture principles into rail operational safety, and says no sanctions apply when a breach is reported beforehand, the offending conduct stops and there is full cooperation with the investigation.

Strikes and the Urda crash

The decree follows the accident at Urda (Toledo) on 28 October, on the Madrid-Sevilla high-speed line, which killed 69 people. The package answers demands from trade unions, and Carlos Cuerpo, who now heads the Ministry of Transport, met union representatives in the days before the approval. Those representatives reported a change of tone in the government, but not enough to call off the stoppages. The Sindicato Espanol de Maquinistas Ferroviarios (Semaf) called a 24-hour strike at Renfe for Tuesday, 10 November, and unions have also called stoppages for Thursday, 12 November. In its statement, the ministry put the aim of the decree plainly.

“The decree seeks to respond to the demands of the trade union organisations.”

Ombudsman and early retirement

A separate regulation creates the Defensor de Victimas de Accidentes de Transporte Colectivo, an ombudsman office within the government. It is charged with providing continued psychological, social and legal assistance to victims, and with protecting their rights, dignity and needs. The regulation was sent to the Council alongside the decree. The decree also extends early retirement reduction coefficients to rail staff who perform the same functions, which the ministry presents as part of the package for the sector.