Am I alone in thinking that there is more to this?

I am sure that we are all aware of the horrendous train accident in Spain, and I am equally sure that all of us extend our sympathies to the families of the deceased, whilst wishing the injured full and speedy recoveries; however, I just have that 'nagging' feeling that there is something not quite right with the story as it has been portrayed so far.

My initial thoughts were that it seemed pretty cut and dry - train being driven far too fast took a bend and the laws of physics took over; to all intents and purposes, that would appear to be exactly what has happened, however the bit that is bugging me is WHY was it going so fast?

Considerable mention has been made about the speed of trains in Spain generally, with one photo being touted showing a speedometer reading a high speed that was allegedly posted/tweeted by the driver of this stricken train. Without doubt, this is little more than conjecture, and to my mind is yet another example of the current trend of trial by media.

Now, it is of course entirely possible that this tragic event is due to driver error - but there are a couple of things that have been reported as fact that really bug me:

• It has been said that the driver had been over this particular piece of track a number of times, and was familiar with it - why would he suddenly abandon his knowledge of this piece of track?
• Concerns have allegedly been raised before about this particular curve - indeed, the presence of a track-side camera would suggest that there is something of concern for it to be monitored - maybe not solely the cause, but a large contributory factor?
• Reportedly, there are a host of safety features built into modern trains and the track infrastructure, such as speed limiters etc - why did none of these slow or stop the train?
• It was also reported that on the lead up to the crash, the driver placed a radio call to his control centre and told them how fast he was travelling and that he thought the train was going to de-rail; if he was speeding for the thrill/honour of it, or doing so knowing he was flouting the rules, why would he make the call?
• One of the first things that was reported was the statement from the train operating company stating that the train had passed an examination that morning; what sort of examination? Are they concerned that their maintenance schedule isn't up to par, so are getting in early to use the driver as a scapegoat? Certainly in my area of life, all buses/coaches are subject to a 'first use check' every single day, and that is done by the driver - good as they are, they will not spot defects that are not visible on a walk round of the vehicle; I'd assume trains are pretty similar? Given that Spain is all but bankrupt, could it be that the state train operator is cutting corners maintenance wise?

I am sure, or at least I hope, that the full story will come out one way or the other, but I can't help but wonder if there is some sort of stitch-up happening?