On Wednesday, 78 people were killed in a passenger train derailment that happened in north-western Spain. The Madrid to Ferrol train's eight carriages came off the tracks which further resulted to more than 140 hurt and 36 seriously injured people.
Media report stated that the train travelled at more than twice the limit of speed that was necessary around the curve. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy declared national mourning for three days due to the accident.
"Today is a very difficult day. Today we have lived through a terrible, dramatic accident, which I fear will stay with us for a long time. For someone from Santiago, like myself, believe me, this is the saddest Day of Saint James of my life," Rajoy stated.
Renfe, a rail company in Spain, stated that the train passed the inspection held that morning. Renfe, together with Adif, would investigate about the real cause. Adif was a government-owned company that was in charge of the maintenance of the track. It said that up to Eur100 million per year were spent for the maintenance of tracks in Spain.
The European Railway Agency said that Spain's rail safety record was better than the European average. It ranked 18th out of 27 countries when it comes to the railway deaths for every kilometres travelled.
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