Part found near Spain train crash site may be missing undercarriage, experts say

By Susana Vera and David Latona

ADAMUZ, Spain, Jan 21 (Reuters) – A large piece of metal found near the site of a high-speed train crash in Spain may be the missing chunk of undercarriage that investigators have been searching for to find the cause of the accident, a source and experts said on Wednesday.

The crash, one of Europe’s biggest, happened on Sunday night near the southern town of Adamuz in a remote hilly area, killing at least 42 people.

Inaki Barron, the head of Spain’s railway accident investigating body CIAF, said on Monday that the investigation would focus on a missing part, known as a bogie, due to its importance as the key point of contact between the speeding train and the tracks and that it could shed light on the cause of the derailment.

Reuters photographs from Tuesday showed the piece lying partly submerged in a small stream to the side of a railway bridge some 15 metres (49 ft) below the train tracks and some 300 m from the crash site.

Transport Minister Oscar Puente told state broadcaster TVE on Wednesday that the bogie was “one of hundreds of pieces of evidence” being collected and had already been located on Monday by the Civil Guard, but left in place due to its weight. He did not specify to which of the two trains involved in the accident the piece belonged.

BOGIE FLEW OUT LIKE BULLET, SOURCE SAYS

A source briefed on the probe said the component was believed to be a so-called bogie – the train’s wheeled undercarriage – that belonged to the first train that derailed, operated by private consortium Iryo.

Given the very high speed at which the two trains were travelling and the impact of the two trains, the bogie – though very heavy – flew out “like a bullet”, the source, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, said.

Investigators have combed the area around the crash site over the past three days, cordoning it off, marking and photographing every piece of evidence on the track. This piece had no markings and it was not within the cordoned area when it was photographed by Reuters on Tuesday afternoon.

“(The part) is currently under investigation by railway accident investigating body CIAF and we cannot add any information or comments outside the scope of that investigation,” state rail company Renfe said in an emailed statement to Reuters on Wednesday, the day after the piece was photographed.  

The Spanish Transport Ministry, Iryo and Adif did not immediately reply to requests for confirmation that the part photographed by Reuters was the missing bogie. Italy’s Ferrovie dello Stato, the majority owner of Iryo, declined to comment due to the ongoing investigation.

EXPERTS SAY PHOTOGRAPH APPEARS TO BE A BOGIE

“Bogies – the element holding the wheels and suspension to the train – are often thrown loose during high-energy derailments,” Scottish railway engineer and writer Gareth Dennis said.

“The location of this bogie and the section of the train it departed from will help investigators establish the precise trajectories of the derailed vehicles and the energies involved,” Dennis added. 

(Reporting by Susana Vera, David Latona and Corina Pons; Additional reporting by Emma Pinedo, Leo Benasatto; Writing by David Latona; Editing by Aislinn Laing, Rachel Armstrong and Sharon Singleton)