Railway safety questioned as Spain reels from twin train disasters

BARCELONA, Jan 21 (AFP): Spain's railway system was under scrutiny on Wednesday after a commuter train crashed near Barcelona, just days after at least 42 people died in a collision between two high-speed trains.

A train driver died and 37 people were injured-several seriously-late on Tuesday when the commuter train hit a retaining wall that fell onto the tracks in Gelida near Barcelona, regional officials said.

Spain's railway operator Adif said the wall likely collapsed due to heavy rainfall that swept across Spain's northeastern region of Catalonia in recent days.

Spain was already reeling from Sunday's collision in the southern region of Andalusia, which was the country's deadliest rail accident in more than a decade.

A minute's silence for the victims was held on Wednesday at the opening of Madrid's annual international tourism trade fair.

"This is too much," the head of the main opposition Popular Party (PP), Alberto Nunez Feijoo, wrote on X as his formation demanded an "immediate clarification" of the state of the nation's railways.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday before the Barcelona-area crash, far-right party Vox's spokeswoman Pepa Millan said that Spaniards were now "afraid to get on a train".

Services across Catalonia's main commuter rail network have been suspended completely while safety checks are carried out and officials say they will not resume until lines are considered safe.