Spain's second deadly rail crash of the year kills 68

Spain declares three days of mourning as election nears

A high-speed train slammed into the rear of a stopped train Wednesday near the town of Urda, killing 68 people and turning a quiet stretch of track lined with olive groves in central Spain into a scene of carnage.

The collision in the central province of Toledo came four weeks before a national election and has raised fresh concerns about the safety of a rail network long considered one of the nation’s crowning achievements. Spain’s high-speed rail ranks second to China in track mileage worldwide and, until this year, had not endured a deadly crash since coming into service more than three decades ago. The network carried 45 million travelers last year, including millions of tourists.

In January, 46 people died when one train jumped the track and slammed into the side of another traveling the opposite way in southern Spain.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the crash site after regional authorities confirmed that more than 60 people had died and that dozens more were being treated at hospitals. He pledged an investigation and improvements to prevent another tragedy.

“It is clear that we need to reinforce the safety of our train service to rebuild the trust in our high-speed rail,” Sánchez said. “It is not acceptable for a country like Spain to endure two high-speed train accidents in the same year.”

Sánchez’s government declared three days of mourning starting Thursday.

Both of the year’s deadly crashes involved a train operated by the state-owned RENFE company and one operated by the privately owned IRYO. Spain liberalized its high-speed rail service in 2021, with Italy’s IRYO starting service the following year.

Transport Minister Óscar Puente said the collision was caused by what he called the “inexplicable” order from a central command center for Spain’s trains after a security system failed, and he said the train engineers were not to blame. Puente said that at 8:30 a.m. the security system on a stretch of 63 kilometers (39 miles) stopped working due to a computer malfunction, causing all trains on that stretch to stop. The IRYO train was stopped near Urda at that point, while the RENFE train was 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) behind it. Minutes later, he said, the central command told the RENFE train to start running again without any speed restrictions, and it collided with the stationary IRYO train at 8:53 a.m. Puente said the train should never have been told to move again because a “stop signal” was still active on the line — and that if it had been cleared to move, it should have been told to go at reduced speed.

Sánchez has held power since 2018, weathering crises and winning reelection after the COVID-19 pandemic and the global rise in inflation. Polls show he faces another uphill battle in Spain’s first national election since 2023, which he called earlier this month in hopes of leveraging discontent over housing costs and high rents. About an hour before news of the crash spread, Sánchez posted on X that “There are lots of reasons to be optimistic about this country.” It now appears he will have to handle concerns over the state of Spain’s rail service along with attacks from right-wing parties over his liberal migration policies and accusations of corruption against his party and his wife, which both he and his wife deny.

Puente faced questions about whether he would resign after a second major train wreck under his watch as transport minister. He said he was fully focused on dealing with the collision, not his future.

Sánchez’s main rival, Popular Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, demanded a full investigation of the crash and said his party canceled its campaign events for the day in respect for the victims.

“This is the moment to respect the dead, the injured and their families,” Núñez Feijóo said. “That does not mean we will ignore the fact that Spaniards are asking tough questions that demand answers.”

Vox party leader Santiago Abascal responded within hours of the crash.

“More dead. Another tragedy. More rage over being left to fend for ourselves, the despair and the betrayal that Spaniards are enduring,” Abascal said. “I promise to work tirelessly until this government, which is a criminal organization, is sitting in a courtroom to answer for its crimes.”

Workers began using cranes to move parts of the damaged trains late Wednesday after a day involving hundreds of emergency workers, firefighters, police and soldiers who helped rescue survivors and recover bodies.