Train drivers in Spain called for a strike after a second fatal train crash in days killed one of the union’s members, underlining longstanding frustrations over maintenance and safety.

“All of us at SEMAF are devastated and consider this situation of constant deterioration of the railway unacceptable,” the union, which represents railway drivers across the country, said on January 21, after a commuter train crashed near Barcelona on the night of January 20. 

The union urged drivers to walk out until their safety could be guaranteed.

The move threatens to shatter calls for unity led by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez after the high-speed derailment January 18 in the Cordoba province left at least 42 dead. 

The second accident was caused by the collapse of a wall due to storms, the Catalan rail network Rodalies Catalunya said on X. It fell onto the tracks carrying the train between Sant Sadurní and Gelida in the Barcelona area.

One person died and about 37 were injured, authorities said. Train services have been suspended in the area. The union said the storm caused another derailment in Maçanet, where a rock loosened and landed on the track, which didn’t result in injuries.

Management of Rodalies, the commuter and regional train network that connects Barcelona and nearby cities, is politically charged. 

Like other urban networks in Spain, it is operated by Renfe, the publicly-owned train company, but local pro-independence parties have long demanded that control of the company should be fully handed over to Catalonia. They have blamed problems with the network on underinvestment by the central government, which denies that it doesn’t invest enough.

The latest crash follows the accident on January 18, which occurred when a high-speed train jumped the tracks and collided with another coming from the opposite direction. 

The cause of that accident is being investigated, and a three-day period of national mourning is under way.