Commuter train derails near Barcelona; driver dead, four badly injured
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BARCELONA – A commuter train derailed on Jan 20 after a containment wall fell on the track due to heavy rain near the Spanish city of Barcelona, killing the driver and seriously injuring four passengers, a fire brigade official said.
The accident occurred just two days after a high-speed train collision and derailment
Mr Claudi Gallardo, inspector at the Catalonia regional fire department, said in televised comments from the site of the crash that 37 people had been injured, four of them seriously, and the driver had died. He said all passengers had been removed from the train.
A total of 20 ambulances were dispatched to the site in Gelida on the outskirts of Barcelona, along with 38 firefighter units, the emergency services authorities said.
The suburban train derailment occurred in a region long plagued by underfunded rail services and frequent incidents.
In a separate incident on the night of Jan 20, traffic between Blanes and Macanet-Massanes south of the city of Girona – also part of the Barcelona commuter rail network – was interrupted “due to a train axle coming off the track”, Spanish rail operator Adif said in a statement on social media platform X. REUTERS
