Spain’s deadliest train crash in over a decade killed 68 people on Wednesday when a high-speed Renfe AVE train struck a stationary Iryo train near Urda in Toledo province, about 80 miles south of Madrid.
The collision occurred at 8:53 a.m. local time after a computer malfunction disabled the automated safety system on a 40-mile stretch of track, halting all trains. Transport Minister Óscar Puente said the control center then cleared the Renfe train to resume normal speed despite a stop signal and the presence of the Iryo train ahead. The Renfe train, carrying 397 passengers, may have reached 124 mph before impact, derailing the last two cars of the Iryo train and scattering wreckage down an embankment. The Iryo train had 146 passengers, including one baby.
Puente called the decision to allow the train to proceed “inexplicable” and said the train’s engineers were not to blame. He stated that even if movement had been permitted, speed should have been restricted to about 25 mph under line-of-sight rules. The control center is run by Adif, the state agency managing Spain’s rail infrastructure. Investigators have not yet released findings, and no one has been charged.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared three days of national mourning and pledged a full investigation, calling it “unacceptable for Spain to suffer two such accidents in the same year.” The crash is the second on the Madrid-Seville high-speed corridor in nine months, following a January collision in Adamuz that killed 46. Sánchez stressed the need to restore public confidence in rail safety, while opposition leaders demanded accountability. Far-right Vox leader Santiago Abascal criticized the government, saying, “More dead. Another tragedy. More rage over being left to fend for ourselves.”
Protests erupted in Madrid on Wednesday evening, with police using tear gas to disperse demonstrators outside the transport ministry. The demonstrations were called by far-right groups, with protesters blaming Sánchez’s government and Puente for the disaster. Regional authorities confirmed 53 injured, 15 seriously, while rescue crews worked through the night with search dogs and drones. High-speed services between Madrid and Andalusia remain suspended.
