EU probes possible rail funding fraud after Spain train crash kills 69

The European Union is investigating the possible misuse of EU funds earmarked for the renovation of a Spanish railway line where a train crash killed 69 people, prosecutors said Friday.

The October accident on the Madrid-Seville high-speed line was one of the worst railway disasters in Europe this century, overshadowing Spain's upcoming general election in November.

A similar investigation into the same stretch of track had already been opened in March in the wake of another accident that claimed 46 lives in the southern province of Andalusia in January, European prosecutors said.

"Today, the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) in Madrid (Spain) is conducting investigative measures at the Administrator of Railway Infrastructure (ADIF), the State Railway Safety Agency (AESF) and the Court of Auditors in Spain," a statement from the prosecutors said.

"This comes after the opening of an investigation into possible fraud affecting EU funds allocated to the renovation and upgrading of safety, signaling and communications systems on the Madrid-Seville high-speed railway line," the EPPO added.

"This exceptional confirmation comes following high public interest and no further details will be made public at this stage."

Spain's Court of Audit confirmed that Spanish police officers were present at ADIF's offices to carry out searches at European prosecutors' request.

The fraud investigation comes on top of another probe launched by a Spanish court to establish how the crash happened.

The accident took place when a train operated by the state-owned Renfe ploughed into the back of a stationary train belonging to the private Spanish company Iryo outside the village of Urda, around 130 kilometres (80 miles) south of Madrid.

The failure of an automatic safety system halted all trains on a 63-kilometre stretch of track, but a control centre authorised the Renfe train to resume its journey, according to the authorities.

Transport minister Oscar Puente, who was also in post during the January crash in Andalusia, submitted his resignation on Tuesday.

Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez named economy minister Carlos Cuerpo as Puente's temporary replacement.

He added that Cuerpo would take interim charge of the transport portfolio through to the November election, which polls suggest his ruling Socialist party could lose.

The right-wing opposition, which had demanded Puente's resignation, and unions had criticised the ex-minister for appearing to blame the disaster on one control centre operator.

Train drivers' union Semaf, which has called strikes for November 10 and 12, has denounced a worsening of working conditions and the use of "degraded systems".

Critics say investment in maintenance has not kept up with the increase in passenger numbers since the 2021 liberalisation of Spain's rail network, which allowed private companies to break the decades-long monopoly by the national operator Renfe.