Safety chief, train driver jailed over deadly Santiago de Compostela derailment

Published on 31-07-2024 at 14:29

An aerial view shows the site of a train accident near the city of Santiago de Compostela on July 25, 2013. A train hurtled off the tracks on July 24, 2013 in northwest Spain killing at least 77 passengers and injuring more than 140, an official said today, the country's deadliest rail disaster in more than 40 years. ANP

A Spanish train driver and a former traffic safety chief at the national rail infrastructure operator Adif have both been handed a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for their roles in Spain’s worst rail accident in decades. A key ruling on the derailment attributed responsibility not only to the driver but also to a failure in the management of the country’s railway safety system.