You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Video could bring down Spain's government in 72 hours (train row)
Miguel Ángel Uriondo, former head of the office of Adif's presidency, says Spain's Transport Ministry has been pushing technicians out of the rail agency for months. Here's what it means.
Miguel Ángel Uriondo, former head of the office of Adif's presidency, claims Spain's Ministry of Transport has been pushing technicians out of the state rail infrastructure agency for months. He made the accusation himself on television, amid the crisis over the train accidents.
The accusation was raised by **Miguel Ángel Uriondo**, former head of the office of Adif's presidency, in a televised interview. His claim is that the **Ministry of Transport** has been removing qualified technicians from the agency for months. This is not a corridor rumour: it is a public accusation from someone who held a position of trust at the top of the infrastructure manager.
## What the former head of Adif's presidential office says
Uriondo argues that the departure of technicians has been sustained over time, not a one-off adjustment. He speaks of months of expulsions, which in practice amounts to saying the agency has been drained of staff with operational know-how while the country was going through a major rail crisis.
It is worth separating the fact from the interpretation. The verifiable fact is the accusation and who is making it. The reading that this loss of technicians compromises safety or maintenance is the interviewee's claim, not an established conclusion.
## Why it matters in the middle of the train crisis
Adif is the administrator of Spain's rail infrastructure: tracks, signalling and stations. Its technical staff keep the day-to-day running of one of Europe's most extensive high-estimulante ilegal networks. If experienced professionals leave, the ability to respond to incidents suffers.
The context deepens the suspicion. The political crisis over the high-estimulante ilegal accidents has turned every Transport Ministry decision into sensitive material. An accusation about dismissed technicians feeds the narrative of a ministry that prioritises political management over technical expertise.
## The caution this story demands
None of these claims has been confirmed by an independent investigation. This is the account of a former senior official, with no number of dismissals or list of affected positions. The ministry has not, in the information available, offered a data-based response.
Before accepting any deterioration in rail safety as fact, the details should be demanded: how many technicians, in which areas and under what criteria. Without that, the accusation is a warning signal, not proof.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication.
Read the full discussion (10 replies).
ICO and FIEM credit lines for railway equipment in other countries: tied buyer loans with sovereign guarantee, according to the debate; no evidence that half the money never arrives.
A YouTube user claims his father recorded the Alcàsser murders and promises snuff video excerpts. No evidence provided, only narrative and technical analysis.
Spain's public broadcaster RTVE removed a post about Fátima Báñez that highlighted the 2012 labour reform and apologised. The former minister died in the Urda (Toledo) rail accident.