Feb 11 (Reuters) - Twenty-nine people charged in connection with the Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people in 2004 will go on trial on Feb. 15.

Following are some facts about the trial:

WHO IS BEING TRIED?

-- Twenty Arab men, most of them Moroccans, are charged with belonging to or collaborating with a terrorist group.

Some of them are also accused of terrorist murder, attempted murder and damage to public property while others face allegations of falsifying documents, drug trafficking and supplying explosives.

-- Nine Spaniards will go on trial accused of supplying or trafficking explosives.

The Islamists' main contact, Jose Emilio Suarez Trashorras, is accused of terrorist murder, attempted murder and damaging property. He and his brother-in-law Antonio Toro Castro are charged with collaborating with a terrorist organisation.

WHO ELSE WAS INVOLVED?

Some of the main ideologues and organisers of the attacks were among seven suspects who blew themselves up weeks after the train bombings.

Another main suspect is believed to have been killed in Iraq and three are still on the run.

A Spanish minor has already been convicted of trafficking explosives to the Islamist cell in a juvenile court and is serving time in a detention centre.

WHO IS JUDGING THE CASE?

The case will be heard by a three-judge panel. The lead judge is Javier Gomez Bermudez, who also presided over a trial of 24 suspected al Qaeda members in 2005.

WHAT IS THE PROCEDURE?

The judges will first hear statements from the 29 accused. While they are on the stand, they can be questioned by lawyers.

Next, about 610 witnesses will be called, followed by more than 100 experts and forensic investigators. The judges will then be presented with documentary evidence.

The lawyers sum up, the state prosecutor presents her report, the defendants have their last word and the judges retire to consider the evidence and draw up their verdicts.

The hearings are expected to last until late July and the judges are expected to deliver their verdicts and sentences no earlier than October. There will be three breaks in the trial for Easter week in April and other national holidays.

WHO WILL BE IN COURT?

The three judges will sit at the top of the chamber.

The 18 defendants who are in prison will sit in a clear, bullet-proof box and the other 11 will sit in open court.

Another area is reserved for the 26 defence lawyers and 23 prosecuting lawyers, including those representing three victims' associations.

Each defendant is allowed to invite one person to sit in the public gallery, where a small block of seats is reserved for victims and relatives of those who died. There are 10 seats for the first members of the public to turn up.

Beneath the courtroom is another hall for victims and relatives, where there will also be a clinic and psychologists to help people get through the trial.

WHO ELSE CAN WATCH?

The trial is being broadcast live on Spanish television and on the Internet (www.datadiar.com). The court is providing simultaneous translation for witnesses or defendants who do not speak Spanish.

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