The trade union Alferro has reported that railway operations in Galicia are placing safety second, despite Grupo Renfe stating in its White Paper on Operational Safety Culture that safety takes precedence over any other objective.
Among its criticisms, the union highlights the rostering of a single on-board crew member on services operated with Series 106 units and double-formation Series 121 sets crossing the Das Maceiras tunnel. These formations provide capacity in excess of 560 seats and up to 580. In addition, it is not possible to move between the two units of a double-formation Series 121 set.
Alferro states that, even on services with two on-board staff, one is assigned as a passenger without duties, preventing the real passenger load from being known before entering the As Maceiras tunnel — a requirement the union links to the ACOT tunnel protocol.
Instructions at Vigo Urzaiz
Alferro also claims that the instructions applied at Vigo Urzaiz are incompatible with the train response, evacuation and rescue plan issued by the Civil Protection Directorate. According to the union’s statement, passengers are allowed to alight to the platform before the train arrives and without completing the pre-departure tunnel procedures set out in that document.
The union links this practice to the tight timings of the new Series 106 services under the Galicia Plan, which, in its view, prevent the standard procedure from being followed without accumulating delay. The As Maceiras tunnel, at 8,279 m, is the longest on the Atlantic Corridor; Adif and Renfe carried out an emergency evacuation drill there on 9 October.
Rolling stock and crewing
Alferro is also calling for on-board staff to be provided with the equipment needed to deal with incidents on Series 106 trains: the intercom activation key for each coach, the tool for opening roof hatches, and a screwdriver to remove WC doors if a door cannot be opened.
Finally, Alferro recalls that the on-board staff group has been waiting for nine months for implementation of the February strike-suspension agreement provision concerning the establishment of minimum train crewing levels.