At least 68 people were killed when two high-speed trains collided south of Madrid on Wednesday, and rescuers were still combing the wreckage for more victims. The head of Castilla-La Mancha’s regional government said the death toll had climbed to 68. The collision, near Urda, is Spain’s second deadly rail accident this year and the deadliest in Europe since 2013.
The crash involved a Renfe train and an Iryo train, both operated on the same high-speed network. Emergency teams, funeral vehicles and helicopters gathered at the site, where part of one train sat on an elevated section of track. Several carriages from at least one train had plunged down an embankment.
Minister blames signal failure and a protocol breach
Transport Minister Oscar Puente told reporters in Madrid that the crash happened after a Renfe train was allowed to proceed even though a red signal was active. That signal was in place because another train was stationary on the track ahead, he said.
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According to Puente, the red signal had been triggered by a computer communications failure, which automatically halted traffic. He said an incorrect decision was then taken to restart the Renfe service, which he described as a breach of protocol.
A person briefed on the disaster gave a related account. That person said an Iryo train had been stopped near Toledo on the orders of the infrastructure manager, Adif, because of a signal fault. A Renfe train then struck it at high speed, derailing several carriages on both trains.
Survivors describe the impact and chaotic evacuation
Passengers who escaped streamed along a road beside the tracks, some splattered with blood or bandaged, while others pulled suitcases and accepted water from volunteers. The scene was marked by twisted metal, broken panels and debris spread across the slope below the line.
Miguel, who was travelling with several colleagues in the rear carriage of one train, told COPE radio he heard a huge roar and a heavy thud that lasted about 10 seconds. He said it felt as though the train was about to derail, and through a window he could see another wrecked train.
Eduarda, a passenger on the Iryo train, told Cadena SER radio that a powerful jolt threw her forward. At first she assumed the driver had braked hard for an emergency stop. She only grasped the seriousness after seeing injured people and being told to leave the carriage.
After climbing down the embankment, she described a catastrophic scene, with part of the train hanging over the slope and a fire burning in one carriage. She said emergency responders, including a helicopter, police and ambulances, reached the area within about 20 minutes. “I saw dead people,” she said.
Casualty figures, passenger numbers and company responses
Authorities had not yet released a figure for the number of injured. Health Minister Mónica García urged people to donate blood through a post on X. Esther Padilla, a spokesperson for the Castilla-La Mancha region, said 147 people had been on the Iryo train and 397 on the Renfe train.
A spokesperson for the regional government said the Renfe and Iryo trains crashed just after 9 a.m., causing two Iryo carriages to leave the rails. Renfe said it had opened a dedicated helpline for victims’ families and offered its condolences. Iryo said it had activated its emergency protocols.
In a statement, Renfe said its train had hit the Iryo train, which had remained stationary, “for reasons we don’t know” after being cleared to continue. The company said the sequence of events, traffic conditions and circumstances of the impact would have to be established by the investigation. There was no immediate reply from Iryo or Adif to a Reuters request for comment.
Scrutiny of rail safety after the January crash
The collision follows a January accident involving high-speed trains from the same operators on the same line, which killed 46 people near Adamuz in Cordoba province. That crash prompted debate about how much had been invested in railway maintenance in recent years. Its causes are still under investigation.
A preliminary report by Spain’s Civil Guard in February pointed to defects in the track, rail or a weld between two sections as the main hypothesis, while keeping seven other theories open. Spain’s railway safety authority said accidents, including derailments and collisions, rose from 45 in 2016 to 57 in 2024 and 69 last year.
Ridership has also fallen. A Reuters analysis of data from Spain’s competition authority found about 25 million passengers used a high-speed train in the first half of the year, a decline of roughly 14% from the same period last year. European Commission data shows Spain’s maintenance spending on its roughly 4,000 km (2,485 miles) of high-speed lines has lagged behind large European peers.
Spain spent an average of about €1.5 billion a year on its high-speed network between 2018 and 2022, more than any other country, according to the figures cited. Most of that went to new infrastructure, with only around 16% set aside for maintenance, renewal and upgrades. The crash also came as Spain prepares for an election on November 29.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was travelling to the scene, his office said. The opposition People’s Party cancelled all of its campaign events, a spokesperson said. Sanchez wrote on X that he was shocked by the serious train accident in Toledo and sent his affection, solidarity and support to the victims and their families.
