Spain's Second Rail Crash In A Year Kills 68

A stretch of track lined with olive groves outside Urda, in Spain's central Toledo province, became the site of the country's second deadly high-speed rail collision of 2026 on Wednesday, killing 68 people four weeks before a national election.

The crash occurred at 8:53 a.m., when a RENFE train struck a stationary IRYO train from behind. Transport Minister Óscar Puente said the security system on a 63 kilometer stretch of line had gone down at 8:30 a.m. because of a computer malfunction, halting all trains on that segment. The IRYO train stopped near Urda. The RENFE train was 25 kilometers back.

Minutes later, Puente said, the central command center issued what he called an "inexplicable" order for the RENFE train to resume running without speed restrictions. The train should never have been told to move while a stop signal remained active on the line, Puente said, and if it had been allowed to proceed, it should have been limited to reduced speed. He placed no blame on the train engineers.

The collision came four months after 46 people died in January, when a train left the tracks and struck another train traveling the opposite direction in southern Spain. Spain's high-speed network, which ranks second worldwide by track mileage behind China, had not had a fatal crash since entering service more than three decades ago. The system carried 45 million travelers last year, including tourists.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the crash site and pledged an investigation and safety improvements. "It is clear that we need to reinforce the safety of our train service to rebuild the trust in our high-speed rail," Sánchez said. "It is not acceptable for a country like Spain to endure two high-speed train accidents in the same year." His government declared three days of mourning beginning Thursday.

Both crashes this year involved a state-owned RENFE train and a train from IRYO, the Italian operator that began service in 2022 after Spain liberalized its high-speed rail market in 2021. Sánchez had posted on X roughly an hour before news of Wednesday's crash spread that "There are lots of reasons to be optimistic about this country." Puente, asked whether he would resign after a second major wreck under his watch, said he was focused on the collision rather than his own future.

Polls show Sánchez faces a difficult race in Spain's first national election since 2023, his first contest since taking power in 2018. Popular Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo demanded a full investigation and said his party canceled campaign events for the day. "This is the moment to respect the dead, the injured and their families," Núñez Feijóo said. "That does not mean we will ignore the fact that Spaniards are asking tough questions that demand answers." Far-right Vox leader Santiago Abascal called the government "a criminal organization" and said he would work until it answers for its acts in court.

Hundreds of emergency workers, firefighters, police and soldiers worked through Wednesday to rescue survivors and recover bodies. Cranes began moving damaged train parts late that day.