[jonp888]

For many years the Spanish state-owned company RENFE had a monopoly on Spain's huge high speed rail network. However their high prices, inconvenient schedules and poor customer service were often criticized, and so when, to the annoyance of RENFE and many spanish politicians, additional foreign operators entered the market on the key Madrid - Barcelona route, ridership doubled whilst ticket prices halved.

So I would standby for this tragedy to be used for political purposes to try and get foreign operators banned from Spanish tracks, regardless of the facts of the matter.

[diegocg]

Foreign operators are mandated by the EU, they can't be banned. Spain has been one of the first countries to allow foreign high speed operators (unlike other European countries that did attempt to delay their entrance as much as possible

[oersted]

I have observed that it is a recurring pattern. I am most aware of the behind the scenes in public education, but I believe it is across the board.

Massive efforts are done to implement reforms to conform to EU standards, believing that that’s how the “superior” EU members do it (Germany, NL, Nordics…). But then I go there and I see that their system has nothing to do with the standards and they are not doing much to conform.

It’s fine, these reforms are often beneficial for Spain, and I do believe that generally being in the EU is a big win-win. Although sometimes it’s just a lot of unnecessary reshuffling at great cost.

A certain segment of the Spanish population really looks up to northern EU countries, or rather they feel a sense of inferiority. In practice there is not all that much to look up to and I believe Spain should be feel more confident. Many great things are prevented by the widespread belief that we are in a shitty country and that everyone is useless, but it is just not true.

[arielcostas]

France, for example, has been trying to delay allowing Renfe (Spanish operator) to operate through the country as much as possible, while their public operator SNCF (branded as Ouigo) has been able to operate here since 2021.

[elnatro]

Unless there is evidence that the accident was caused by the Iryo train, I wouldn’t be so fast to blame the private companies on a decaying infrastructure.

There are plenty of cases of lack of maintenance in the railway network.

[Xenoamorphous]

> Unless there is evidence that the accident was caused by the Iryo train

I'd say the same about the railway network. We don't know what happened yet.

[wolvoleo]

But like the OP says this particular infrastructure area was brand new.

[locknitpicker]

> So I would standby for this tragedy to be used for political purposes

This is an ignorant opinion. For multiple reasons.

Derailing under these circumstances is a track issue, which means ADIF, the state's infrastructure maintainer, is under suspicion. Not operators, the state's infrastructure maintainer.

Liberalization of the railway sector is an EU-wide mandate. It's not some whimsical slip of a single country's leadership.

Years ago there was an AVE derailment in Santiago de Compostela. No one banned RENFE from the lines.

[ThePowerOfFuet]

>Derailing under these circumstances is a track issue, which means ADIF, the state's infrastructure maintainer, is under suspicion.

This is the most likely outcome, but it is not as cut-and-dried as you are presenting it.

It could be a broken rail weld, it could be track sabotage, it could be a broken wheel or bogie... we don't know yet.