Transport

Spain: train collision near Toledo. 31 fatalities confirmed

28 October 2026aggiornato alle 13

Aggiungi Il Sole 24 Ore
ai preferiti su Google

Spagna, scontro tra treni vicino Toledo: decine di morti

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Train collision in Toledo: human error suspected

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

The death toll from the tragic train crash on the Madrid–Seville high-speed line has risen to 31, with 80 people injured, 30 of whom are in a serious condition. Rescue teams have not yet managed to gain access to the most severely damaged carriages.

Spagna, scontro tra treni a Toledo: i soccorsi in azione

One train was carrying 147 passengers, the other 397. This was reported by the Madrid-based newspaper La Razón, citing the Civil Protection Service of the Castilla-La Mancha region. El País reports that the number of confirmed fatalities is 31, as reported by the Castile-La Mancha regional government, of whom 24 were passengers travelling on the Renfe AVE train and 6 on the Iryo train.

Spagna, scontro tra treni vicino a Toledo: le immagini del disastro riprese da un passeggero

The accident took place between Los Yebenes and Urda, at kilometre 118, involving a Renfe 2080 train and an Iryo 6076 train, both high-speed services. The second train was stationary at the station entrance. At least four carriages were overturned, including three rear carriages of the Iryo train which derailed.

Urda

Rail services between Madrid and Andalusia have been suspended.

Traffico interrotto

Alla stazione ferroviaria di Atocha, a Madrid, una donna passa davanti a un tabellone informativo che mostra i treni soppressi a seguito della collisione tra due treni ad alta velocità avvenuta in Spagna, il 28 ottobre 2026. REUTERS/Susana Vera

On 18 January, a further rail accident involving high-speed trains near Adamuz, in Andalusia, had left 45 people dead and over 120 injured.

Contact and support telephone numbers

These are the telephone numbers (area code 0034) to contact the victims of the train accident in Urda (Toledo): emergency services 112; Clm: 900 122 112 - Renfe: 900 10 10 20 - Iryo: 655 28 69 75.

Train collision in Toledo: human error suspected

It is believed that human error caused the collision between the two trains. According to government sources, as reported by El País, the investigation is focusing on “a human error on the part of an operator from Adif (Administrador de infraestructuras ferroviarias) during a fault in the main signalling system’ is being investigated.

According to information gathered by the technicians at the scene, the Iryo high-speed train was stationary at a signal near Toledo on the instructions of the infrastructure manager Adif due to a fault in the LZB signalling system (Linienzugbeeinflussung), a system for continuously monitoring the speed and position of trains. According to another source, it was the Renfe train that was travelling with a fault in the LZB system.

The infrastructure manager was issuing instructions to all trains operating on the line, directing them to operate under ‘visual control’ at a speed of 40 km/h. At that moment, the Renfe high-speed train is believed to have collided at high speed with the stationary train, causing several carriages from both trains to derail.

Trade unions and the safety of the Spanish rail network

The train accident in Toledo took place the day before the strike by train drivers, who are calling for improvements to safety standards. The Semaf strike had been announced for 16 October due to unfulfilled commitments relating to the Adamuz project.

Renfe claims to have fulfilled its obligations, and the Ministry of Transport has set a minimum service level for Thursday.

Iryo, a subsidiary of FS International

Iryo is part of the Ilsa consortium, which is 51 per cent owned by FS International, 25 per cent by Air Nostrum and 24 per cent by Globalvia. The railway company has confirmed that its train was involved and has stated that it has activated “all emergency protocols” following the incident. FS International is the operational sub-holding company of the Italian State Railways Group, established in 2017 and based in Rome, created to coordinate and develop the Group’s passenger transport and activities in foreign markets.