The Independent Railway Union (SIF) – the majority in the MetroValencia Works Council – has announced that it will sue the management of Metrovalencia before the Valencian Railway Safety Agency (AVSF) for «endangering the lives» of passengers and workers on April 29, the day after the electrical blackout throughout Spain, by restoring the service «without the minimum safety guarantees.»
The union has stated in a press release that the train drivers who provided service in MetroValencia on the morning of April 29 «received a total of more than 2,250 orders to pass signals on Metro lines and more than 170 on Tram lines, that is, more than 2,420 specific permits to bypass signals that were not working or indicating a stop.»
The union has pointed out that «a good part» of the interlockings on all MetroValencia lines and the Tram network were not operational during those early hours of the day. «That is, the system that controls and manages the signals and switches on the tracks to ensure the safety and efficiency of rail traffic simply was not working,» it emphasized.
On that day, there were widespread delays on all lines, with more than 60 trains accumulating delays of over 20 minutes, reaching up to 60 and even 75 minutes in some cases.
Additionally, it added that «many stations remained in darkness for several hours with informational panels disabled, and the barriers at some level crossings were left open or broken, even though trains were running on all lines, posing a risk to vehicles and pedestrians.»
Therefore, the SIF has decided to report this action to the AVSF for what it considers «a negligent and irresponsible action by the management of the public company on April 29.»
«The decision to put the majority of trains and trams into circulation that day was at the expense of people’s safety, putting the lives of Metrovalencia passengers and workers at serious and totally unnecessary risk. Fortunately, we do not have to lament any incidents. But the absence of incidents does not mean that the management acted correctly,» it asserted.
The union has stated that this situation «demonstrates the great professionalism of the majority of MetroValencia workers.»
In addition, the SIF officials have expressed their belief that the management of MetroValencia wanted to take credit that day in front of their political superiors at the expense of the safety of passengers and workers and have recalled that in Barcelona and Madrid, the metro service «was not restored until all the problems caused by the blackout were resolved, thus ensuring the safety of people»; while «in Valencia, they decided just the opposite,» by starting the service «without the minimum required safety guarantees.»
«It seems that we have not learned anything from past serious mistakes, in a public company that must regret the most serious metro accident in the history of Spain,» reproached the SIF officials, who also maintained that the management’s actions during the incident «left much to be desired.»
In this regard, they regretted that they expect «explanations that always come late and poorly, and only serve to hide the incapacity, incompetence, and irresponsibility of a management more concerned with concealing the deficiencies in resources and personnel than with providing a quality and safe public transportation service.»
