The Valencia Metro derailment occurred in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

's third largest city, on 3 July 2006 at 1 p.m. CEST (1100 UTC) between Jesús and Plaça d'Espanya stations on the Line 1 of the

Metrovalencia Metrovalencia is an urban rail system serving a large part of the metropolitan area of Valencia. The network is a modern amalgamation of former FEVE narrow gauge electric operated suburban railways. It is a large suburban network that crosses t ...

mass transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

system. At least 43 people were killed and more than ten were seriously injured. ''

El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...

'' reports that Valencian forensic scientists have identified all but one of the victims — a woman whose family has not claimed her. Twenty-one of the victims were from

Torrent Torrent or torrents may refer to: * A fast flowing stream Animals * Torrent duck, a species of the family Anatidae * Torrent fish * Torrent frog, various unrelated frogs * Torrent robin, a bird species * Torrent salamander, a family of sa ...

, a locality seven kilometres from Valencia and the train's destination. Five more victims were from the city of Valencia itself, and two were from

Paiporta Paiporta () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Horta Sud in the Valencian Community, Spain. Twin towns Paiporta is twinned with: * Soliera Soliera ( Modenese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Modena in the Italian ...

, which is also nearby. It was not immediately clear what caused the crash, which occurred at a curve just outside Jesús station. However, data from the train's

black box In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). The te ...

showed that the train's speed at the derailment point was 80 km/h (50 mph), which means it was travelling at twice the normal 40 km/h speed for this curve. Defective wheels or the possible collapse of a tunnel wall were also being considered as possible causes. Both the Valencian government spokesman Vicente Rambla and Mayor Rita Barberá have called the accident a "chance" event. However, the trade union

CC.OO. The Workers' Commissions ( es, Comisiones Obreras, CCOO) since the 1970s has become the largest trade union in Spain. It has more than one million members, and is the most successful union in labor elections, competing with the Unión General de ...

has accused the authorities of "rushing" to say anything but admit that Line 1 is in a state of "constant deterioration" with a "failure to carry out maintenance". It has been reported that a part of the wall in the tunnel between Plaça d'Espanya and Jesús stations in the southwestern neighbourhood of Patraix may have collapsed, causing the derailment of one of the carriages, which in turn caused the carriage behind it to overturn. The fire brigade, medics and local police went to the scene after a passenger in the crashed train called the emergency services at about 1:03 p.m. (1103 UTC). The incident came days before

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...

was due to visit Valencia for the World Meeting of the Families, attended by one million pilgrims. It also coincided with the end to one of the pre- America's Cup 2007 match racings. Both events led to an increase in tourists in the area. The Pope offered his condolences and prayed at Jesús station, the scene of the accident.

Subsequent reactions

Years after the accident several news media published information that reopened the debate about it.
Se reactiva el debate en torno al accidente del metro de Valencia
' by

La vanguardia ' (; , Spanish for "The Vanguard") is a Spanish daily newspaper, founded in 1881. It is printed in Spanish and, since 3 May 2011, also in Catalan (Spanish copy is automatically translated into Catalan). It has its headquarters in Barcelona and i ...

29 April 2013. In June 2011 the magazine Interviú published that the train driver, who died in the accident and who received all the blame, was ill with

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrica ...

, which disqualified him for his work. In March 2012 the newspaper '' El Mundo'' published a story according to which FGV have instructed employees who were to testify at the crash commission investigation, providing a set of possible questions and guidelines to respond questions. In April 2013 the TV program '' Salvados'' questioned the official version of the incident as there were indications that the Valencian Government had tried to downplay the accident, which coincided with the visit of the pope to Valencia, or even to hide evidence, as the book of train breakdowns was never found. The day after the broadcast of this report, which received extensive media coverage, several voices called for the reopening of the investigation.
Un alcalde del PP insta a la Fiscalía a reabrir el caso del accidente del metro
' by F. Álvarez, H. Sanjuan on en El Mundo 29 April 2013.

References

External links

News media

Train crash kills 35 in Valencia
at

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...

Spain subway crash toll rises
at CNN.com
Al menos 30 muertos por el descarrilamiento de un vagón del metro en Valencia
at '' 20 minutos''
Some images
at '' El Mundo''
A video
at '' El Mundo''
In Pictures: Valencia train crash
at

Maps

View of Jesús Station and surrounding area
at

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets (Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

Map of Valencia Metro

Videos