At least 68 dead in Spain's second major train crash this year

Two high-speed trains collided south of Madrid on Wednesday, killing at least 68 people as rescuers searched the wreckage for more victims. Transport Minister Óscar Puente said a Renfe train was allowed to proceed despite a red signal after a computer communications failure, and that restarting it breached protocol. The crash was Spain’s second deadly rail accident this year and Europe’s deadliest since 2013.

The trains collided just after 9 a.m., and two Iryo carriages derailed, according to a Castilla-La Mancha regional spokesperson.

The Iryo train carried 147 passengers, while 397 people were aboard the Renfe train, regional spokesperson Esther Padilla said.

Renfe said the exact sequence of events, traffic conditions and circumstances of the impact would have to be established by an investigation.

Spain’s railway safety authority recorded 69 accidents in 2025, up from 45 in 2016 and 57 in 2024.

From 2018 to 2022, Spain spent an average of about €1.5 billion annually on its high-speed network, with about 16 percent earmarked for maintenance, renewal and upgrades.

Published Oct 29, 2026 12:22 am KST

Emergency services attend to the victims at the scene of a collision between two trains in Urda, Spain, on Wednesday. AP-Yonhap

URDA, Spain — At least 68 people died when two Spanish high-speed trains collided on Wednesday, with rescuers scouring the wreckage for more bodies after Spain's second deadly rail accident this year and Europe's deadliest since 2013.

Spain's transport minister said Wednesday's crash south of Madrid occurred after a Renfe train was authorised to continue its journey despite there being an active red signal because of a stationary train on the track ahead.

Oscar Puente told reporters in Madrid that the red signal was issued due to a computer communications failure, which automatically stopped traffic, and an erroneous decision had been made to restart the Renfe train, in a breach of protocol.

Ambulances, funeral home vans and helicopters were parked next to one of the trains on an elevated section of track, while twisted metal, broken panels and wreckage were strewn across an embankment down which at least three carriages had plunged.

A passenger rescued from one of the trains involved in a collision arrives in Urda, Spain, Wednesday. AP-Yonhap

Rescuers looking for more victims

Evacuated passengers streamed along a nearby road. Some were splattered with blood or had bandaged wounds, while others wheeled suitcases and were handed water by volunteers.

Miguel, who was travelling with several colleagues in the rear carriage of one of the trains, described the moment of the accident and its immediate aftermath.

"We heard a massive roar, a truly enormous thud that went on for 10 seconds, as if the train were about to derail. Through the right-hand window, we could see a wrecked train," he told COPE radio.

The head of Castilla-La Mancha's regional government said the death toll had risen to 68, while rescue workers were still going carriage by carriage looking for other crash victims.

Passengers rescued from one of the trains involved in a collision arrive in Urda, Spain, Wednesday. AP-Yonhap

Operator Renfe says circumstances being investigated

The collision comes after an accident in January between high-speed trains belonging to the same operators and on the same line that killed 46 people.

In that crash a train derailed and smashed into an oncoming train near Adamuz, in Cordoba province, prompting a debate about the level of investment in railway maintenance in recent years.

A person briefed on Wednesday's disaster said a train operated by private consortium Iryo stopped near Toledo on orders from infrastructure manager Adif due to a signal fault.

A train operated by Renfe then struck the stationary train at high speed, causing several carriages of both trains to derail, the person said.

Renfe said in a statement that after being authorised to continue its journey, its train had crashed into the Iryo train that had remained stationary "for reasons we don't know".

"The Renfe train continued on its way as instructed, and a collision occurred. The exact sequence of events, the traffic conditions and the circumstances of the impact will have to be established by the investigation," Renfe said.

There was no immediate response to a Reuters request for comment from Iryo or Adif.

Passenger describes seeing fatalities

Authorities gave no immediate figure for the number of injured but Health Minister Mónica García urged people in a post on X to donate blood. Castilla-La Mancha region spokesperson Esther Padilla said 147 people had been travelling on the Iryo train and 397 on the Renfe train.

The accident is the deadliest in Europe since a 2013 crash in Spain's Santiago de Compostela left 80 people dead.

Eduarda, a passenger on the Iryo train, told Cadena SER radio she felt a strong impact that threw her forward, initially making her think the train had made an emergency stop.

She only realised the seriousness of the accident after seeing injured people and being told to evacuate.

After climbing down an embankment to safety, she saw what she described as a catastrophic scene, with part of the train hanging down the slope and a fire in one carriage.

Emergency responders, including a helicopter, police and ambulances, arrived within about 20 minutes, she said. "I saw dead people," she said.

The Renfe and Iryo trains crashed just after 9 a.m., causing two Iryo wagons to derail, a spokesperson for the Castilla-La Mancha region said.

Renfe said it had activated a special line for families of victims and expressed its condolences. Iryo said it had activated emergency protocols.

The causes of the January accident near Cordoba are still under investigation. A preliminary report by Spain's Civil Guard in February pointed to defects in the track, rail or weld between two sections of track as the main hypothesis for the accident, but kept seven other theories open.

Election due next month

The latest accident comes as Spain gears up for an election on November 29. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was on his way to the scene of the crash, his office said. The opposition People's Party cancelled all campaign events, a spokesperson said.

"Shocked by the serious train accident in Toledo. My affection, solidarity, and support to all the victims and their families," Sanchez said on X.

Accidents, including derailments and collisions, increased from 45 in 2016 to 57 in 2024 and 69 last year, according to Spain's railway safety authority.

Some 25 million passengers used a high-speed train in Spain in the first half of the year, a decline of roughly 14 percent compared with the same period last year, according to a Reuters analysis of data from Spain's competition authority.

European Commission data shows Spain's maintenance investment in its roughly 4,000 km (2,485 miles) of high-speed lines has lagged large European peers, despite an unmatched drive to expand the network.

Spain spent an average of about €1.5 billion a year from 2018 to 2022 on its high-speed network, more than any other country. The vast majority went to new infrastructure with only some 16 percent earmarked for maintenance, renewal and upgrades.

周三，两列高速列车在马德里南部相撞，造成至少68人死亡，救援人员正在残骸中搜寻更多遇难者。交通部长奥斯卡·普恩特表示，一列西班牙国家铁路公司（Renfe）的列车在计算机通信故障后，尽管亮起了红灯，仍被允许继续行驶，而重新启动列车违反了相关规定。这起事故是西班牙今年发生的第二起致命铁路事故，也是自2013年以来欧洲最严重的铁路事故。

据卡斯蒂利亚-拉曼查地区发言人称，两列火车在上午 9 点刚过就相撞了，其中两节 Iryo 型车厢脱轨。

地区发言人埃丝特·帕迪利亚表示，Iryo列车载有147名乘客，而Renfe列车上则有397人。

西班牙国家铁路公司（Renfe）表示，事件的确切经过、交通状况和撞击情况需要通过调查来确定。

西班牙铁路安全局记录显示，2025 年将发生 69 起事故，高于 2016 年的 45 起和 2024 年的 57 起。

从 2018 年到 2022 年，西班牙每年平均花费约 15 亿欧元用于高速网络建设，其中约 16% 用于维护、更新和升级。

发布于2026年10月29日凌晨12:22（韩国标准时间）

周三，在西班牙乌尔达，两列火车相撞，紧急救援人员在现场救治伤者。（美联社-韩联社）

西班牙乌尔达——周三，两列西班牙高速列车相撞，造成至少 68 人死亡。救援人员正在残骸中搜寻更多遇难者遗体。这是西班牙今年发生的第二起致命铁路事故，也是自 2013 年以来欧洲最严重的铁路事故。

西班牙交通部长周三表示，马德里南部发生的这起事故是由于前方轨道上有一列火车停着，尽管当时亮起了红灯，但一列西班牙国家铁路公司（Renfe）的火车仍被允许继续行驶。

奥斯卡·普恩特在马德里告诉记者，发出红灯是因为计算机通信故障，导致交通自动停止，并且错误地决定重启 Renfe 列车，违反了协议。

救护车、殡仪馆的货车和直升机停在一段高架轨道上的一列火车旁边，而扭曲的金属、破碎的面板和残骸散落在路堤上，至少有三节车厢坠落了那里。

周三，一名从相撞列车中获救的乘客抵达西班牙乌尔达。美联社-韩联社

救援人员正在寻找更多受害者

撤离的乘客沿着附近的道路鱼贯而出。有些人身上溅满了血迹，有些人身上缠着绷带，而另一些人则拖着行李箱，志愿者们递给他们水。

米格尔当时和几位同事一起乘坐其中一列火车的后车厢，他描述了事故发生的那一刻及其直接后果。

“我们听到一声巨响，一声持续了10秒钟的巨大撞击声，就好像火车要脱轨了一样。透过右侧的车窗，我们看到一列损毁的火车，”他告诉COPE电台。

卡斯蒂利亚-拉曼查地区政府负责人表示，死亡人数已上升至 68 人，救援人员仍在逐节车厢搜寻其他事故受害者。

周三，从相撞列车中获救的乘客抵达西班牙乌尔达。美联社-韩联社

西班牙国家铁路运营商Renfe表示，正在调查相关情况。

此次碰撞发生在今年 1 月，同一运营商在同一条线路上的高速列车发生事故，造成 46 人死亡。

在那次事故中，一列火车在科尔多瓦省阿达穆斯附近脱轨，撞上了迎面驶来的火车，引发了近年来铁路维护投资水平的辩论。

一位了解周三灾难情况的人士表示，由私营财团 Iryo 运营的一列火车因信号故障，在基础设施管理公司 Adif 的命令下停在了托莱多附近。

该人士称，随后一列由西班牙国家铁路公司运营的列车高速撞上了停在路边的列车，导致两列列车的几节车厢脱轨。

西班牙国家铁路公司 (Renfe) 在一份声明中表示，在获得继续行驶的许可后，其列车撞上了因“我们不知道的原因”而停下的伊良列车。

“Renfe列车按照指示继续行驶，随后发生碰撞。事件的具体经过、交通状况以及碰撞发生的情况，还需要通过调查来确定。”Renfe公司表示。

路透社就此事向Iryo或Adif寻求置评，但未立即得到回复。

乘客描述目睹死亡事件

当局尚未公布受伤人数，但卫生部长莫妮卡·加西亚在社交媒体X上发帖呼吁民众献血。卡斯蒂利亚-拉曼查大区发言人埃丝特·帕迪利亚表示，伊里奥列车上有147人，西班牙国家铁路公司（Renfe）列车上有397人。

这是自 2013 年西班牙圣地亚哥-德孔波斯特拉发生车祸造成 80 人死亡以来，欧洲最致命的事故。

伊利奥号列车上的乘客爱德华达告诉塞纳SER电台，她感到一股强烈的冲击力，将她向前抛去，起初她以为列车紧急停车了。

直到看到受伤的人并被告知要撤离后，她才意识到事故的严重性。

她爬下路堤来到安全地带后，看到了她形容为灾难性的一幕：火车的一部分悬在斜坡下，其中一节车厢着火了。

她说，包括直升机、警车和救护车在内的紧急救援人员大约20分钟内就赶到了。“我看到了死人，”她说。

卡斯蒂利亚-拉曼查地区的一位发言人表示，Renfe 和 Iryo 的列车在上午 9 点刚过就相撞，导致 Iryo 的两节车厢脱轨。

西班牙国家铁路公司（Renfe）表示已开通遇难者家属专线，并表达了慰问。保险公司（Iryo）表示已启动紧急预案。

1月份发生在科尔多瓦附近的事故原因仍在调查中。西班牙国民警卫队2月份发布的一份初步报告指出，轨道、钢轨或两段轨道之间的焊接缺​​陷是事故的主要可能原因，但同时也保留了其他七种可能性。

下个月举行选举。

西班牙即将于11月29日举行大选，而此次事故正值此时发生。首相办公室表示，首相佩德罗·桑切斯当时正在赶往事故现场。反对党人民党发言人称，该党已取消所有竞选活动。

“对托莱多发生的严重火车事故感到震惊。我向所有受害者及其家属表示慰问、声援和支持，”桑切斯在X上说道。

根据西班牙铁路安全局的数据，包括脱轨和碰撞在内的事故数量从 2016 年的 45 起增加到 2024 年的 57 起，去年则达到 69 起。

据路透社对西班牙竞争管理局数据的分析显示，今年上半年西班牙高速列车客运量约为2500万人次，与去年同期相比下降了约14%。

欧盟委员会的数据显示，尽管西班牙大力扩张高速铁路网络，但其对约 4,000 公里（2,485 英里）高速铁路的维护投资却落后于其他欧洲大型铁路国家。

从2018年到2022年，西班牙平均每年在高速网络建设上投入约15亿欧元，超过其他任何国家。其中绝大部分用于新建基础设施，只有约16%用于维护、更新和升级。