Two Deadly Train Crashes in Spain in One Year: Why the Causes Point to Different Systems

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Northeastern Global News asked me about the collision of two high-speed trains near Urda, in Spain’s Castilla-La Mancha region, on October 28, 2026. It was the second deadly rail crash in Spain this year, after the derailment at Adamuz in January.
A white Renfe AVE Class 103 high-speed train on ballasted track beside a wooded hillside in Catalonia. Renfe AVE Class 103 near Maçanet-Massanes, Catalonia. Photo by Peter elektro, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

It is too early to say whether the two crashes share a cause. Spain has the largest high-speed rail network in Europe and a strong safety record, so two fatal crashes in one year deserve a serious look. The preliminary findings from Adamuz pointed to a fractured rail at a weld, which is a question of track inspection and maintenance. What the transport minister described at Urda, a train allowed to restart and travel about 25 kilometres before reaching a stopped train, points instead to signalling and train control. Those are different systems, maintained and checked in different ways.

You can read the full article here.

Ghana is Moving, but Barely: The Case for a Smarter Public Transportation Strategy

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In this opinion piece published in MyJoyOnline, I make the case for a sequenced, multimodal transportation strategy for Ghana, one that formalizes the tro-tro sector, commits to a fully operational BRT corridor, and begins earnest rehabilitation of the Eastern Rail Line. Drawing on my experience studying and using transit systems across more than a dozen countries, I argue that Ghana’s mobility crisis is not a capacity problem but a governance and strategy problem, and that the choices made in the next few years will shape its cities for the next half-century.

JPM/YPT Montréal Greater Boston Area Bike Tour

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I led a group of around 30 transportation engineers, city planners, and other professionals from Jeunes Professionnels en Mobilité / Young Professionals in Transportation Montréal on a bike tour across the Greater Boston Area. Starting in Boston and biking through Cambridge and Somerville, we explored new cycling infrastructure in these cities. We discussed policies like the Cycling Safety Ordinance by the City of Cambridge and the Safe Streets Ordinance by the City of Somerville, which aim to improve safety and accessibility for all road users, including cyclists and pedestrians. The tour highlighted the impressive progress in cycling infrastructure and how much has changed over the past decade.

PhD Student Reflects on the Sustainable Transportation Dialogue of Civilizations in Holland

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In my experience during the summer course in the Netherlands, I was deeply inspired by the country’s commitment to sustainable transportation, particularly its cycling culture. The Dutch approach combines innovative infrastructure with a strong emphasis on safety and accessibility, creating an environment where cycling is the norm rather than an exception. This transformative experience instilled in me a renewed sense of responsibility and optimism about reshaping urban transportation in the U.S. to be safer, more sustainable, and inclusive for all users.