Two high-speed trains collide near Urda in Spain’s Toledo province, killing at least 30, regional officials say

Two high-speed passenger trains collided on Wednesday morning, Oct. 28, near the Urda station in Spain’s Toledo province, and the Castilla-La Mancha regional government puts the death toll at a minimum of 30, according to El País, the Guardian and Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE (El País; the Guardian; RTVE). Regional sources told the news agency EFE that they consider 30 “un mínimo”, a minimum (@EFEnoticias on X). Esther Padilla, the regional government’s spokesperson, told RTVE the figure may climb further, the Guardian reports (the Guardian). Government sources told El País the crash could prove worse than the Adamuz disaster in January (El País). The number of injured had not reached the public by the time of this story; CNBC writes that it remains unclear how many people suffered injuries (CNBC).

According to Renfe, as quoted by RTVE, the state operator’s AVE 2080 from Madrid to Seville struck the rear of the private operator Iryo’s train 6076 at the entrance to Urda station; Renfe added that the two rear cars of the Iryo train had derailed and that the 112 emergency service could not reach the driver of train 2080 (RTVE). El País, citing the 112 emergency service, reports that the Iryo train stood stopped on the track when the AVE hit it and that two Iryo cars and one AVE car fell down an embankment (El País). CNBC, citing reports, says the moving train hit the stationary one at more than 100 kilometres per hour, about 62 miles per hour (CNBC). Both trains ran the same Madrid–Seville route, according to Adif’s post on X, which placed the collision at kilometre point 118 between Mora/Orgaz and Urda (@InfoAdif on X).

Padilla told TVE’s La 1 that 397 passengers rode the AVE and 147 passengers plus a baby rode the Iryo train, more than 540 people in all, according to El País (El País). Earlier in the morning, she gave a first count of 10 dead and warned the figure would almost certainly grow, El País reports (El País). Adif first posted at 9:10 a.m. local time (1:10 a.m. PT) that traffic on the Madrid–Andalucía high-speed line had stopped because of a rear-end collision between two trains (@InfoAdif on X). The Castilla-La Mancha 112 service activated the regional emergency plan, PLATECAM, at 9:15 a.m. local time (@112clm on X).

Passengers described a violent impact. Miguel Ángel Pérez, who rode in the last car of the AVE, called the crash terrible and beyond words in a phone call to TVE, El País reports (El País). Cristina Cuerva, in car two of the AVE, said the train had made several stops because of traffic before a very hard braking; she said Guardia Civil officers arrived first, followed by ambulances and helicopters, according to El País (El País). Another passenger, Miguel, who rode in a rear car with colleagues, told COPE radio, in a translation relayed by Reuters and the Guardian: “We heard a massive roar, a truly enormous thud that went on for 10 seconds” (the Guardian). Fernando Seco, speaking to RTVE, said passengers in his carriage, at the back of the train, got out and down the embankment, where they realised the scale of the damage to the front carriages (the Guardian; RTVE).

Officials have not confirmed a cause. Government sources quoted by El País attribute the crash to human error at the Atocha control centre in Madrid, and CNBC, citing El País, reports that an Adif operator appears to have made a mistake when signalling systems failed (El País; CNBC). According to information Adif gave RTVE, trains on that stretch ran under a backup signalling system known as BSL because of a fault in the main LZB protection system; under BSL, drivers follow lineside signals while the ASFA safety system brakes a train only at specific points if a driver ignores a signal (RTVE). José María Goicolea, of Spain’s Association of Civil Engineers, told RTVE that a human failure with LZB out of service offered the only explanation he could see, while calling such ideas speculation; Óscar Carballo, of the College of Public Works Engineers, urged caution on RNE and said the signalling rules should make a rear-end collision impossible (RTVE). The courts in Orgaz will handle the investigation, according to judicial sources cited by El País (El País).

The emergency response drew in national, regional and city services. The Interior Ministry deployed the military emergency unit, UME, at the request of the Castilla-La Mancha government, according to El País and RTVE (El País; RTVE). The Guardia Civil said on X that it sent public-safety officers, mobile citizen-service offices, its SEPRONA environmental unit and traffic agents (@guardiacivil on X). Madrid’s city government sent seven fire vehicles and 16 ambulances, El País reports, and the regional blood centre in Madrid issued an “urgent appeal for blood donations”, in the Guardian’s translation (El País; the Guardian). The town of Consuegra asked residents to avoid its health centre, which has treated some of the injured, and Urda’s mayor, Manuel Galán, told RTVE that Civil Protection asked the town to open a sports hall for those affected (El País; RTVE).

Families can call Renfe on 900 101 020, Iryo on 900 001 403 and the Castilla-La Mancha 112 service on 900 122 112, according to RTVE, El País and the Guardian (RTVE; El País; the Guardian). Adif opened assistance points for relatives at Madrid’s Atocha, Seville’s Santa Justa, Córdoba and Málaga stations, El País reports (El País). High-speed service between Madrid and Andalucía has stopped with no restart time; on a normal weekday, El País says, between 115 and 130 long-distance trains use the corridor (El País).

Political leaders responded within hours. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote on X that he felt “shocked” (consternado) and stayed in contact with Transport Minister Óscar Puente and the regional president, Emiliano García-Page, according to CNBC’s translation and his post (CNBC; @sanchezcastejon on X). Puente posted that he had worked from the H24 control centre since 9:40 a.m. to gather information (@oscar_puente_ on X). Health Minister Mónica García called it a high-impact accident and said she expected a major tragedy, RTVE reports (RTVE). Opposition Popular Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo and the Royal Household also posted messages of concern, RTVE reports (RTVE). European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote, according to the Guardian: “My heart goes out to the victims’ families and loved ones” (the Guardian). Italy’s Giorgia Meloni sent condolences, El País reports (El País).

The crash also lands in an election season. CNBC notes that Sánchez faces a snap general election next month (CNBC). RTVE reports that every party except Vox suspended its pre-campaign events (RTVE). Vox leader Santiago Abascal faulted the government on X, writing, in CNBC’s translation: “Tragedy again. Rage again over the neglect, the ruin, and the betrayal suffered by the Spanish people” (CNBC). The government has not publicly answered that criticism in the sources this desk read.

For Spain, the collision revives memories of the Jan. 18 derailment at Adamuz, in Córdoba province, which, according to El País, killed 46 people on Jan. 18; RTVE also counts 46 dead and notes that a Guardia Civil report on Adamuz points to a faulty rail weld (RTVE; El País). Goicolea compared Wednesday’s crash with the 2013 Angrois derailment, in which a train on an ASFA-only section took a curve too fast, RTVE reports (RTVE). The Guardian notes that Spain runs Europe’s largest high-speed rail network (the Guardian).