Improved Railway Safety Measures to be Installed in Spain

Spain is to install new safety measures on its high-speed rail system six months after a serious train crash killed 79 passengers and injured 100 others.

Public Works Minister Ana Pastor says video and audio recordings will be made inside train drivers’ cabins and speed controls will be rolled out across Spain’s railways.

Train drivers will be forbidden from using mobile phones while driving, she said Friday. Recordings of their movements and conversations will only be made public as part of accident investigations, she added.

In addition to automatic braking systems, trains will also be equipped with GPS systems to keep drivers informed about the maximum speed permitted in each section of track and warn if that limit is exceeded.

The improvements will begin testing in March.