64 Killed, 80 Injured as Two High-Speed Trains Collide in Central Spain

AP, Oct 28, 2026, Urda, Spain : A high-speed train slammed into the rear of another train that had stopped, derailing two cars and killing at least 64 people on Wednesday in central Spain, authorities said.

The central government’s office for Castilla-La Mancha confirmed the death toll had risen.

The regional president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano Garcia-Page, had said at least 80 people were injured and that the death toll “will surely rise” as rescue workers continue to search the wreckage for survivors and bodies.

It was the second major train accident in Spain this year.

Spain’s rail system operator ADIF said the crash occurred on Wednesday morning in the province of Toledo. The accident involved two high-speed trains carrying hundreds of passengers and heading in the same direction from the capital, Madrid, to Seville in south-western Spain, according to Esther Padilla, spokesperson for the Castilla-La Mancha region.

One train ran into the rear of the other, which had stopped, knocking two of its cars off the track.

Padilla said that the cause of the crash was not known. Rail services were suspended between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia.

The crash, which occurred on a flat stretch surrounded by olive fields between the towns of Urda and Los Yebenes, left one car shredded into pieces of metal and other material, scattering debris down a gravel slope.

Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia said emergency workers were focusing on rescuing survivors and recovering bodies from the two most damaged train cars. She said the injured were being sent to different hospitals in the area.

“It was a high-speed impact, so we are expecting this to be a tragedy,” Garcia said.

The accident involved a train from Spain’s state-owned RENFE company and the private rail company IRYO. It appeared that the RENFE train rammed the IRYO train, Spanish media reported. Garcia-Page said 24 people died on the RENFE train and six on the IRYO train.

Padilla said that 397 passengers were on the RENFE train and 147 passengers were on the IRYO train.

Trains from the two companies were also involved in a deadly crash in January.

IRYO, an Italian-owned company, said in a statement that it had “activated its security protocols and is closely working with authorities”.

The mayor of the nearby town of Urda, Manuel Galan, told state broadcaster TVE that civil protection authorities had asked his town hall to prepare a sports pavilion to accommodate injured passengers.

A military emergency brigade was deployed to assist emergency services, firefighters and police. Ambulances and medical helicopters made trips to and from the site, while uninjured survivors were put on buses.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez cancelled his agenda to focus on the crash. He wrote on X that he was “dismayed by the serious train accident in Toledo”.

“Emergency services are working on site to attend to the affected passengers,” wrote Sanchez, who faces a national election next month. “All my thoughts are with the victims and their families.”

Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia said in a short statement on X that they were following news of the accident.

“We are deeply saddened and concerned by the train accident in Urda (Toledo),” the royal couple said. “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.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, “My heart goes out to the victims’ families and loved ones. Today, Europe mourns with you.”

Spain’s football federation postponed all 24 Copa del Rey games scheduled for Wednesday.

Spain already suffered a devastating train crash this year.

The wreckage of Wednesday’s crash reminded many of the aftermath of another train collision in January, when 45 people died in southern Spain when an IRYO train jumped the track and hit an oncoming RENFE train. That sent the first two cars of the impacted train plummeting down a four-metre (13-foot) slope.

That crash was the deadliest in Spain since a 2013 crash that killed 80 people.

The January incident shook confidence in the European country’s extensive high-speed rail service.

Spain is a leader in high-speed rail.

Over recent decades, Spain has invested heavily in high-speed rail—which the country’s railway union defines as railways for trains travelling at 250 kph (155 mph) and above—turning it into a world leader.

Spain has laid some 3,900 kilometres (2,400 miles) of such tracks over more than three decades for its 49 million residents. Only China, with 45,000 kilometres (28,000 miles) for its 1.4 billion people, has more high-speed track, according to the International Union of Railways.

Only recently did Spain open its rail network to private companies to compete against RENFE. IRYO started operating in Spain in 2022.

A spokesperson for Spain’s train workers’ union, Joan Rodriguez, said the increased traffic brought by privatisation had put extra strain on rail infrastructure.

“We are not convinced that the liberalisation of the high-speed passenger rail service was matched by the necessary upkeep of the lines,” Rodriguez told TVE. “I am not saying it was a determining factor (in the crashes), but yes, the increase in use of the network is a factor to keep in mind.”