Spain train crash: at least 69 dead near Urda
A collision at speed
A Renfe high-speed train smashed into a stationary Iryo train near Urda in central Spain on Wednesday 28 October 2026, killing at least 69 people, Reuters reported on 30 October. A preliminary report by the Independent Authority for the Technical Investigation of Accidents and Incidents (AITAT) estimated the Renfe train was travelling at between 160 and 200 kph when the collision occurred. AITAT said it would not be able to confirm the exact speed until it extracted information from the train’s black box.
The Civil Guard said it had received reports of 64 people missing; Reuters notes it is unclear how many of the missing were among the bodies still to be identified, so the two figures must not simply be added together. Authorities had carried out 49 autopsies so far and identified five people, three women and two men, according to Esther Padilla, spokesperson for the Castilla-La Mancha regional government, speaking on TVE on Friday.
How the trains came to meet
The collision occurred after several trains were automatically stopped due to failure of the automatic signalling system, after which the central control centre in Madrid took over. A Renfe train was authorised to proceed even though a stationary Iryo train was ahead, according to Transport Minister Oscar Puente. Audio obtained by El País showed a controller authorised the Renfe train to continue at normal speed, which Puente said disregarded a protocol to travel at no more than 40 kph in such circumstances.
The Renfe train carried 379 passengers and seven crew; the Iryo train in front carried 147 passengers and five crew, and under protocol the Iryo train should have proceeded first, Reuters reported.
Spain’s deadliest since 2013
It is Spain’s deadliest train accident since 2013, and followed another fatal accident in January involving the same rail companies on the same line. Investigators will now examine the signalling failure, the control-centre decisions, and whether the protocol for authorising movement past a stopped train was followed.
Sources: Reuters | BusinessWorld (Reuters-based)
