SANTIAGO (AP) — Chile’s railway workers federation announced Sunday a strike for Sunday and Monday due to what it says is a lack of safety on trains, following Thursday’s accident in which two drivers and two crew members died. His companions were arrested.
The National Federation of Freight and Passenger Rail Transport indicated in a statement that it had held talks with the State Railway Company (EFE) since the day of the crash, but they did not agree to guarantee the safety of the tracks.
“We regret to report that” EFE – which manages and maintains the country’s railways – “has not been able to guarantee the safety of railway traffic, since to date no improvement has been made in the mobilization systems in which “We are currently operating, thus maintaining the same operational conditions that resulted in the collision of two trains with fatal consequences,” they noted, announcing the suspension of services in Santiago on Sunday and in Valparaíso and other regions in the south of the country as of Monday.
They warned that the strike will continue “until EFE is able to guarantee the safe circulation of trains on the tracks of our country,” and pointed out that in their role as railway workers they will not “endanger the lives of our associates, much less the of our passengers.”
The railway union also expressed its dismay at the accident that occurred on Thursday, in which a train transporting copper collided in the early morning with another that was carrying out speed tests and was circulating without passengers as both used the same track. The freight train driver and his assistant died in the crash, and 9 other people were injured.
“We regret their loss and use this opportunity to publicly send our sincere condolences to the families,” they stated.
The driver of the train who carried out the speed tests and the person in charge of track control, both EFE officials, are in partial night detention while the investigation lasts and charged with quasi-crime of homicide – due to recklessness and without intention – and serious crimes. after the ruling of a guarantee court on Saturday.
EFE, on whose page a black ribbon appears as a sign of mourning, announced on Sunday a contingency plan and mitigation measures against unemployment for those users who do not have other means of transportation.
Measures will be implemented in both the Metropolitan Region and those of Valparaíso and Biobío, which include “reinforcing bus services and frequencies of public transportation as well as the metro,” the government’s undersecretary of transportation, Jorge Daza, announced on social networks.
EFE also announced in a statement that it had held a “permanent dialogue” with the machinists “to advance a common work agenda, aimed at strengthening the development of their company and the workers,” and noted that it will maintain its availability so that the strike is resolved. solve it as soon as possible, while apologizing to users for the inconvenience.
