At least 68 people died on Wednesday morning, October 28, 2026, when two high-speed trains collided near Urda in Toledo province, Spain, south of Madrid. The crash involved a Renfe-operated AVE train and an Iryo high-speed train traveling on the rail line connecting Madrid and Seville.
The collision happened between the towns of Mora and Orgaz on the Madrid-Andalusia high-speed corridor. The Renfe train, carrying 397 passengers, rear-ended the stationary Iryo train, which had 147 passengers aboard. Two carriages derailed and fell down an embankment as a result of the impact.
About 80 people were injured in the accident, including
approximately 50 seriously and 15 critically, according to Emiliano Garcia-Page, head of Castilla-La Mancha regional government. Health Minister Monica Garcia stated emergency responders prioritized rescuing survivors and recovering bodies from the two most damaged carriages. Over 200 personnel from the Military Emergencies Unit have been deployed to assist with rescue operations including local firefighters and medical teams sent by Madrid Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida.
All high-speed rail services between Madrid and Andalusia have been suspended by ADIF following the accident, affecting routes between Madrid and Toledo as well as Málaga and Seville. Renfe offers passengers free ticket changes and cancellations
for journeys on the impacted lines. The UK Foreign Office updated travel advice warning of significant disruption, while Ouigo suspended trains on the Madrid-Andalusia corridor for the day.
The collision occurred amid a signaling system failure reported around 8:30 a.m. local time on a 63 km stretch of track. Transport Minister Oscar Puente confirmed the LZB control system malfunction affected six trains before control was shifted to Madrid’s Atocha control post. Despite unresolved signaling problems, Atocha control authorized the Renfe train to resume travel. Puente described this decision as “inexplicable.” The Civil Guard dispatched a disaster investigation team to the
scene.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared three days of official mourning from October 29 to 31, expressing shock and promising a thorough investigation. “We will get to the bottom of this, and if there was negligence, it will be revealed, and if there were system failures, there will be a strong response,” Sanchez said. He added, “What is unacceptable for a country like Spain is to suffer two train accidents in the same year.”
This marks Spain’s second major rail disaster in 2026 on the Madrid-Seville route operated by Renfe and Iryo. In January, a crash involving these same operators
killed 46 people. The government had pledged to conduct railway line inspections following the earlier accident. British journalist Graham Keeley noted government scrutiny will increase with a national election approaching.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron expressed condolences to victims’ families and solidarity with Spain. The investigation into the crash and the signaling failure is ongoing as authorities work to determine further details.
