At least 30 people have been killed and 80 injured after two high-speed trains collided in central Spain on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, derailing two carriages and triggering a major emergency response.
The collision occurred in the province of Toledo, in the Castilla-La Mancha region, when one train struck the rear of another that had stopped, according to railway operator ADIF and regional authorities.
Emiliano García-Page, President of Castilla-La Mancha, confirmed the death toll and warned that the number of fatalities could increase as rescue workers continued searching the wreckage.
The trains were carrying hundreds of passengers and travelling in the same direction from Madrid towards Seville in southwestern Spain, according to Esther Padilla, a Spokeswoman for the regional government.
Padilla said that the cause of the collision remained unknown. The crash forced authorities to suspend rail services between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia as emergency teams worked to reach passengers trapped in the damaged carriages.
Rescue Teams Search Wreckage For Survivors
The collision occurred on a relatively flat stretch of railway surrounded by olive fields between the towns of Urda and Los Yébenes.
Images from the scene showed extensive damage, with one carriage reduced to twisted metal and debris scattered down a gravel slope.
Spanish Health Minister Mónica García told a public broadcaster that emergency personnel were concentrating on rescuing survivors and recovering bodies from the two most severely damaged carriages.
She said that injured passengers were being transported to hospitals across the surrounding area. “It was a high-speed impact, so we are expecting this to be a tragedy,” García said.
The accident involved a train operated by Spain’s state-owned railway company RENFE and another operated by private company IRYO. Spanish media reported that the RENFE train appeared to have struck the IRYO train.
García-Page said that 24 of the fatalities were recorded on the RENFE train, while six people died on the IRYO service. According to Padilla, the RENFE train was carrying 397 passengers, while the IRYO train had 147 passengers on board.
A military emergency brigade was deployed to support firefighters, police and other emergency personnel. Ambulances and medical helicopters transported injured passengers from the site, while survivors who escaped without injuries were evacuated on buses.
Manuel Galán, Mayor of the nearby town of Urda, told TVE that civil protection authorities had asked the local council to prepare a sports pavilion to receive injured passengers.
IRYO, an Italian-owned railway company, said it had “activated its security protocols and is closely working with authorities.”
Investigators had yet to establish what caused the collision, leaving questions about the circumstances surrounding the stopped train and the impact.
Sánchez, Spanish Royals Express Condolences
Spanish Prime Minister,0 Pedro Sánchez cancelled his scheduled engagements to focus on the emergency response. In a statement posted on X, Sánchez said that he was “dismayed by the serious train accident in Toledo.” “Emergency services are working on site to attend to the affected passengers,” he wrote, adding that his thoughts were with the victims and their families.
The accident comes as Sánchez faces a national election next month, although his immediate attention has shifted to the response to the disaster.
Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia also expressed their condolences in a statement on X, saying that they were following developments.
“We are deeply saddened and concerned by the train accident in Urda (Toledo). We share in the grief of the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives, and we send our heartfelt support to the injured and all those affected.”
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also offered her condolences, writing, “My heart goes out to the victims’ families and loved ones. Today, Europe mourns with you.”
The expressions of sympathy came as emergency workers continued their operations and authorities prepared for the possibility of further casualties.
Today’s collision is the second major train accident in Spain this year, renewing concerns about the safety of the country’s extensive high-speed rail network.
In January, 45 people died after an IRYO train derailed in southern Spain and collided with an oncoming RENFE train. The impact sent the first two carriages of the other train down a four-metre slope.
That accident was the deadliest in Spain since a 2013 train crash that killed 80 people.
The January disaster had already shaken public confidence in the country’s railway system, which has undergone extensive expansion over recent decades.
Spain has invested heavily in high-speed rail infrastructure, establishing approximately 3,900 kilometres of high-speed tracks over more than three decades. The country’s railway union defines high-speed lines as those designed for trains travelling at speeds of at least 250 kilometres per hour.
According to the International Union of Railways, only China, with approximately 45,000 kilometres of high-speed track, has a larger network.
Spain’s railway sector has also undergone changes in recent years, with private operators gaining access to a network long dominated by state-owned RENFE. IRYO began operating in Spain in 2022.
The latest collision is likely to intensify scrutiny of railway safety as investigators work to establish the cause and authorities assess the full extent of the damage.
For now, the priority remains the rescue operation, medical treatment for the injured and the identification of those killed in the crash.
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