Three explosions have killed at least 60 rail passengers in Madrid, just three days before Spanish elections. Emergency services told state television on Thursday that at least 62 died in bombings that targeted three stations in the capital's southern suburbs. Spanish media are estimating that around 50 people have been injured in the blasts. Police have already begun to evacuate Madrid's main Atocha train station in case of further attacks. No-one has claimed responsibility for the three simultaneous bombings, but thousands of Spanish are likely to blame the ethnic minority group ETA. **Unfair elections?*** Thousands of Basques have protested the approaching elections and have called for their banned political party to be put back on the ballot sheet. Last Saturday's march in San Sebastian sought international attention, highlighting the complete lack of representation for Basque concerns in central government. Relations between government and local Basque officials have sunk so low the two sides do not talk to each other anymore. Some are concerned Madrid and Vitoria, the Basque capital, cannot be drawn back together after 14 March general elections - when a new central government will take over. The reasons for the rift are clear - Basque hopes for greater self rule, and disagreement on how to deal with the Basque separatist group ETA. **Strained relations*** The central government's strained ties with Spain's "autonomous" regions lie at the heart of the election campaign. Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar refuses to meet Basque premier Juan Jose Ibarrexte, in large part because of Ibarretxe's proposal to grant the Basque Country a "status of free association" with Spain. Aznar questions the Basque Nationalist Party's loyalty to Spain and its commitment in the fight against ETA. **Basque nation*** Meanwhile the Basque Nationalist Party, which has governed the region since 1980, sometimes brands Aznar's party as the heirs to former dictator General Francisco Franco, who died in 1975. "If the Basque government wants a friendly relationship with the rest of Spain, it should reconsider its behaviour of recent years," said Carlos Urquijo, Madrid's representative in the Basque region. "If you keep giving a kick in the pants to the person you are trying to talk with, you can't expect them to open the door for you," Urquijo said, referring to the so-called "Ibarretxe Plan". **PHOTO CAPTION*** Police inspect the remains of a train after an explosion in Madrid, March 11, (Photo by Sergio Perez/Reuters)