Second Spanish Train Crash Kills 68

A high-speed train struck a stationary train from behind near Urda, Spain, on Wednesday, killing 68 people. Regional authorities confirmed the death toll after more than 60 fatalities were initially reported. Dozens of injured passengers are currently receiving treatment at local hospitals.

The collision occurred on a section of track lined with olive groves in the central province of Toledo. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez arrived at the site after the initial reports of the disaster. He visited the area to assess the situation alongside regional officials.

This is the second fatal high-speed rail accident in Spain this year. In January, 46 people died when a train derailed and crashed into another vehicle traveling in the opposite direction in the south. The Spanish rail network, which ranks second in track mileage globally behind China, had not recorded a deadly crash in over three decades prior to these two incidents.

The latest crash has intensified scrutiny of the system ahead of the national election scheduled for four weeks from now. The rail network carried 45 million passengers in 2025, including millions of tourists. Sánchez pledged to investigate the cause of the Wednesday crash and implement improvements to restore public confidence.

"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."

The government declared three days of national mourning beginning Thursday. Both crashes this year involved trains operated by state-owned RENFE and the private operator IRYO. Spain opened its high-speed rail market to private competition in 2021, with IRYO launching service the following year.

Transport minister Óscar Puente stated that a computer malfunction caused a security system failure on a 63-kilometer stretch of track at 8:30 a.m. This failure forced all trains on that line to stop. The IRYO train halted near Urda, while a RENFE train stopped 25 kilometers behind it.

Puente said a central command center issued an order for the RENFE train to resume movement without speed restrictions despite an active stop signal. The train collided with the stationary IRYO car at 8:53 a.m. Puente called the command order "inexplicable" and stated that the train engineers were not at fault.

Political rivals have seized on the disaster. Popular Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo demanded a full investigation and canceled his party's campaign events for the day. Far-right leader Santiago Abascal called the government a "criminal organization" and promised to work until its members faced a courtroom.

Emergency workers, firefighters, police, and soldiers spent Wednesday removing debris and recovering bodies. Cranes began lifting parts of the damaged trains late in the day following hours of rescue operations.