The AVE driver killed in Wednesday’s Toledo train disaster had repeatedly raised concerns about deteriorating railway infrastructure and insufficient maintenance funding, it has emerged.
Antonio Acedo, born in 1990 in Mostoles, Madrid, was driving the train that collided with a stationary Iryo service near Urda. He is among the 69 people reported dead in the tragedy.
A member of Izquierda Española (The Spanish Left), Acedo helped develop the party’s transport programme, drawing on his professional experience to highlight problems facing Spain’s railways.
According to El Español, his concerns included maintenance spending, pressure on the network and the consequences of rail liberalisation.
Party co-founder Guillermo del Valle remembered him as ‘kind and exemplary’, while colleagues described a man ‘deeply committed to improving the railway’.
Fellow party member Paula Fraga paid an emotional tribute, arguing that warnings from railway workers such as Acedo had gone unheard.
Acedo’s father was also a train driver and his grandfather worked as an electrician for Renfe.
He began training as a driver in 2012, with his career taking him from Madrid to Barcelona.
His frequent journeys between Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia later inspired him to photograph the passing landscape.
