Spain to revise speed limits following rail crash

Spain transport ministry is planning to revise the speed limit of train at specific points following a train crash last month in Santiago de Compostela. A file picture of a wreckage of a crashed train, prior to being transported.

Spain will revise speed limits on its entire rail network following a train crash that killed 79 people last month, Infrastructure Minister Ana Pastor announced on Friday.

She told parliament that after the crash of the high-speed train on July 24 near Santiago de Compostela it was necessary to take decisions to improve safety.

The government might lower speed limits on stretches regarded as risky, according to the daily

El Pais .

Train driver Francisco Jose Garzon has admitted to travelling at more than twice the speed limit of 80 kilometres per hour on a steep curve in the track. He also admitted he’d been speaking on the phone just seconds before the accident.

The driver has been charged with 79 counts of homicide through professional recklessness.