Hell, grace never caused misfortune, but that doesn’t make it any less dangerous. Let’s take a look at the scene: A teenager waits for the Parla tram to stop at any of the fifteen stops on its route. he … The driver, who takes about 30 seconds to start driving, checks the cabin to make sure all doors are clear of users. The sides are clear, the interior is organized, and the road ahead is free of obstacles. But there is one point, the background, that is impossible to glimpse. There, the young protagonist has just climbed onto the fairing, a bumper-like cover where he seizes the opportunity to travel undetected. The goal, those affected agree, is not to avoid paying a ticket, but rather to seek adrenaline incorrectly. “Often the friends of those who do this go inland,” they point out, convinced that this trend is another traffic problem they have to face.
“We had the last case today (Wednesday). “It was spotted by an acquaintance of the worker who was at the traffic light and sent him a picture,” explains Raul Medina, president of the Parla Tram Works Council. This driver, who belongs to the Free Transport Union (SLT), is clear that the problem, like what happened in his day with buses and even the subway, comes from afar, although a new method has emerged recently. “We find people riding scooters and holding on to the back to be pulled over,” he says, without understanding how reckless behavior that poses serious risks to everyone is. For the person responsible for the maneuver, of course, but also for the rest of the drivers, who could be involved in an accident if one of these young people is thrown onto the road.
In this sense, it is worth noting that the tram speed can reach 50 kilometers per hour on long straight lines, although the average speed along the entire route ranges between 15 and 20 kilometers per hour. In curves, the possibility of a whip effect increases the threat, so if any of these situations are detected, the driver must stop the convoy immediately and activate the safety protocol. This consists of the aforementioned stop, which has a braking distance of about 32 meters (same procedure as a tram), and calling the local and national police; A setback for the rest of the passengers who have to face corresponding delays.
To make matters worse, when customers arrive, it is normal for the stowaway on board to start running as soon as the car stops. “This has happened all my life, but before that there were no cell phones to record it,” says one local resident, a true reflection of the general sentiment. Only now, another confirms, is the matter beginning to happen more and more often: “Yesterday around eight o’clock in the evening (that is, at night) we saw another.” Whatever the case may be, the truth is that this is not the first time some of these brave people have been involved in an accident, and fortunately, it is not a serious accident. “A while ago, a boy went to the side of the platform,” recalls a third resident, realizing that if he had fallen on the other side he could have been hit by a tram going in the opposite direction.
Added to these situations are accident rates with other passenger cars. “The rate was very high in October and November,” warns Medina, who collects complaints from the majority of drivers about the signs. “It is very risky, for example, we do not have zebra crossings illuminated with LED lights, unlike other farms (in Spain, there are a total of 12 farms) such as the one in Malaga,” adds the head of the workers’ committee. Specifically, at the beginning of last month, a 71- and 74-year-old couple were injured after being hit sideways by a tram while passing on Reyes Católicos Street. Community of Madrid firefighters had to rescue the two adults from the front of the car, while a third passenger, an eight-year-old child and the couple’s grandson, was able to get out on his own.
“We find people riding scooters and they cling to the back to be pulled over.”
The goal, as those affected point out, is not to avoid paying the ticket, but rather to seek the wrong adrenaline.
This accident occurred in an area of the road that two years ago was marked by one of the most spectacular accidents in the history of the Parla tram. On that occasion, a total of 13 people had to be treated and seven were taken to hospital, after the caravan, consisting of five articulated units and carrying 25 users, was hit by a truck. As a result of the collision, the tram derailed and the rear unit was rotated 90 degrees and a few centimeters away from a residential building. Fortunately, the prognosis for all those affected was moderate and only the outer fence of the property was damaged after the sudden exit from the road.
Although the latest balance sheet released by the Home Ministry indicates a 7.3% decline in crime in Parla, no one realizes that crime is one of the greatest scourges of this southern city. In fact, the government delegation continues a special operation launched after the sharp growth of this rate (more than 21 percent) in the first half of the previous year: the so-called Parla Plan, which led to the replacement of the Commissioner and the incorporation of 40 additional agents. Safety, off the road, on trams is no exception to this situation, which is why employees require greater protection during their shifts.
speed
The average speed along the road is between 15 and 20 kilometers per hour, although it can reach 50 kilometers per hour on the long straights.
2004
The Parla tram was upgraded in 2004 to provide coverage to the residents of what is now the ninth largest municipality in the region (about 135,000 inhabitants).
protection
Workers are demanding the implementation of traffic signals with “red photo” radars or zebra crossings illuminated by LEDs at intersections, as is happening in the Malaga network.
12
The tram network in Spain brings together a total of 12 operations in different cities. Parla is the only city that has not recorded any fatal accidents for more than 20 years.
The most conflicting shifts at this service, which run from 4:45 a.m. until 0:45 a.m. the next day, are always closest to the beginning and end of each day, especially on weekends. “We have had cases of attacks with blunt objects,” Medina explains, while revealing that inspectors and interventionists are already working with bullet-proof vests. According to his testimony, quarrels, whether on or off the road, are frequent, causing clear disruption while he is doing his work. In addition, he continues, some unaccompanied foreign minors from the neighboring La Cantuña center (in Fuenlabrada) refused to allow women to drive the tram. “They had to spit on the screen.”
The Parla tram, the pride of “Tomasismo” (the golden era of Tomás Gómez’s PSOE), was promoted in 2004 to provide coverage to residents of what is now the ninth most populous municipality in the region. A round project it would seem, were it not for the tangle of cost overruns, non-payment and bloated interests that turned the city into a scene of perpetual crisis. The same crisis that now affects 86 employees in the service: “We earn about 23,000 euros a year, and we are the ones who earn less than all the farms in Spain.”