Train crash in Toledo: at least 69 dead after an AVE slams into a stopped Iryo train

Spain is living through its worst train crash in decades. On Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at around 8:54 a.m., two high-speed trains collided near Urda, in the province of Toledo.

What happened

An Iryo train was stopped on the track at a stop signal, at kilometer 118 of the Madrid–Andalusia high-speed line, between Los Yébenes and Urda. A Renfe AVE coming down the same track hit it from behind.

Several carriages derailed and some fell down an embankment. The most striking part: it was a straight section of track with good visibility.

There were 544 people on the two trains: 397 on the Renfe AVE and 147 on the Iryo train.

The victims

On Thursday, Castilla-La Mancha president Emiliano García-Page raised the toll to at least 69 dead. More than 100 injured people were taken to hospitals in the region: 53 remain hospitalized and 15 in critical condition. There were 42 foreign nationals on board, according to the Foreign Ministry, and Mexico is looking for one of its citizens who is still unaccounted for.

Authorities warn that the toll could rise: there were still bodies inside the carriages, and some passengers are missing, including a Civil Guard officer who was on the AVE. To identify the victims, the Civil Guard is asking close relatives for DNA samples.

Why did they collide?

The investigation has only just begun, but Transport Minister Óscar Puente has already explained what happened before the crash. At around 8:30 a.m., a communication failure between computers knocked out the LZB safety system on a 69-kilometer stretch, with about six trains on it.

LZB is the system that monitors train speed and brakes automatically if there is danger. Without it, the rules only allow trains to move "on sight", at about 40 km/h. But the Atocha control center, in Madrid, authorized the trains to carry on as normal. Puente called it a "wrong decision" and "inexplicable": that is how the AVE kept going while the section was occupied by the Iryo train.

The commission that investigates rail accidents is urging caution: it says it is "too early" to give a final cause. A judge in Orgaz (Toledo) has already opened proceedings.

The state of the line

Adif has suspended all high-speed trains between Madrid and Andalusia in both directions. If you had a trip on that line, check with your operator before going to the station.

There are helplines for passengers' families: Renfe 900 10 10 20 and Iryo 900 001 403.

Not the first one this year

The government has declared three days of official mourning, from October 29 to 31, and so has Andalusia. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he was "shocked", and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote that "Europe mourns".

The crash comes nine months after the Adamuz accident (Córdoba) in January, when two other high-speed trains collided and 46 people died. That is why the train drivers' union SEMAF is keeping the strike called for this Thursday, demanding more safety on the tracks.

The latest (October 29)

The investigation points to human error after a technical failure: the audio released so far suggests that the Atocha control center allowed the AVE to keep going while the Iryo was still stopped on the track. A 2024 report by the rail accident investigation commission (CIAF) had already warned that human checks are "liable to fail" when they replace an automatic system.

Around 250 soldiers from the UME emergency unit and more than 400 Guardia Civil officers are working at the site, with cranes removing the carriages. Victim identification continues in Toledo, and authorities have warned families about fake text messages: information is only given through official channels.

Vox has filed a complaint against minister Óscar Puente at the Supreme Court, and the PP is demanding political accountability. Podemos and ERC blame rail liberalization and budget cuts. Pedro Sánchez promised to clarify the crash "down to the last detail". The Semaf drivers' strike went ahead: according to Renfe, 15% of staff joined it and 6 of 48 morning trains were cancelled.