URDA, Spain (AP) — Ahead of a national election, Spain’s second high-speed rail accident of the year, in which one train collided with another from behind and killed 69 people, has sparked new worries about the security of the nation’s rail system.
One day after the incident in central Spain, search teams using sniffer dogs were still searching for victims on Thursday. At least three train cars were thrown by the accident, and as police and military combed through the debris scattered down the gravel slope, cranes moved the carriages.
Quick Fact
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| What Happened | Two high speed trains collided |
| Location | Near Urda, Toledo, Spain |
| Date | October 28, 2026 |
| Reported Death Toll | 69 people |
| Train Operators | Renfe and Iryo |
| Government Response | Investigation and railway safety review |
| Current Status | Investigation ongoing |
| Main Concern | Railway safety and passenger protection |
Emiliano García-Page, the regional head of Castilla La Mancha, reported that one additional body was discovered overnight, bringing the total number of fatalities to 69. He said that while authorities worked with relatives to identify the deceased, 50 individuals were still in the hospital.
After visiting injured passengers at a Toledo hospital, King Felipe VI of Spain declared, “As a society, we have once again suffered a devastating blow, and we must adopt measures so that this doesn’t happen again.”
Beginning on Thursday, the Spanish government announced three days of mourning.
Spain’s Rail Network Faces Trust Crisis
One of Spain’s greatest accomplishments is the high-speed rail system.
After China, it is the second-largest in the world. It has not had a fatal collision since it was put into operation more than thirty years ago until this year.
When one train in southern Spain jumped the track and collided with the side of another traveling in the other direction in January 46, the reputation of the Spanish railroads was already damaged.
Then, on Wednesday morning, just nine months later, there was an accident that converted a peaceful section of track surrounded by olive orchards close to the town of Urda into a scene of carnage.
How Spain’s deadly high-speed collision unfolded
A security system malfunctions, causing both trains traveling south on the high-speed rail route between Madrid and Seville to stop around 8:30 a.m. The distance between the state-owned RENFE and the private firm IRYO’s train is around 15.5 miles (25 kilometers).
When Sánchez returned to the crash scene on Thursday, he referred to it as a “tragedy.”
Political implications for Sánchez ahead of election
Sánchez intended to take advantage of a wave of discontent about high rents and housing costs when he called for early elections on November 29.
He now has to deal with worries over train safety in addition to criticism from right-wing organizations for his liberal immigration policies and accusations of corruption against his party and his wife, which both he and his wife deny.
Alejandro Quiroga, a professor of political science at Madrid’s Complutense University, told The Associated Press that it’s too early to predict how many votes might be affected by the catastrophe.
Government says human error caused the crash
After a security system failed, Spain’s Transport Minister Oscar Puente claimed on Wednesday that the “inexplicable” order from a central command center for Spain’s trains was what caused the catastrophe.
According to Puente, a computer glitch caused the security system on a section of track to malfunction about 8:30 a.m., stopping all trains on that section. The RENFE train was 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) behind the IRYO train when it was stopped.
However, a few minutes later, the central command ordered the RENFE train to resume operating at full speed.
Unions question minister
In order to demand that the government implement safety upgrades to the rail services that unions claim were promised following the first fatal incident in January, train workers staged a walkout on Thursday that was originally scheduled before to the Urda tragedy.
Union leaders questioned the minister’s decision to place all the blame on a single controller and denounced the media release of the control room’s talks.
The crash location was also designated as an investigative zone by a court.
The high-speed line that connected Madrid and Seville was shut down, leaving thousands of visitors looking for other ways to get about.
