A Renfe high-speed train crashed into the rear of a stationary Iryo train near Urda in Spain’s Castilla-La Mancha region, killing at least 68 people in a Spain train crash that has prompted national mourning and an investigation. According to The Hindu, the death toll is expected to rise. BBC World reports at least 69 deaths, so the official count remains unsettled.
The Renfe train had 397 passengers on board and the Iryo train had 147, according to BBC World. Spain’s government declared three days of national mourning for those killed, according to the Straits Times.
Transport Minister Óscar Puente said the control centre decided to resume traffic in circumstances he called "inexplicable," according to The Hindu. He said the exact cause remains under investigation. Puente also said the Renfe train may have been travelling at up to 200 kmph, a figure The Hindu describes as possible and unconfirmed. He pointed to a possible technical failure of the LZB safety system, but The Hindu reports that this account is preliminary.
Audio recordings published by El País and RTVE reportedly capture a control operator telling the Renfe driver to proceed "at normal speed." The driver reportedly replied "At normal speed?" and the controller said "Yes," according to BBC World. BBC World’s account is the only one available to this report, and no second outlet’s transcript has been checked. No response from Renfe to the recordings has been reported.
Iryo’s only stated account is that its train was "struck from behind." No further statement from Iryo was reported.
The date of the crash is also reported inconsistently. The Hindu gives October 28 in its photo caption and first report, but elsewhere describes the collision as occurring on Wednesday, October 29, in the morning. The Straits Times gives October 28.
The train drivers’ union SEMAF said it would go ahead with a planned strike to press for railway safety changes. The union said it would not speculate on the cause of the crash, according to the Straits Times. The strike is scheduled to go ahead on Thursday.
The crash is Spain’s second deadly high-speed train accident in 2026. A January crash near Córdoba killed 46 people, according to BBC World, on the same line further south. The Hindu gives a lower figure for that crash, saying more than 40 lives were lost. BBC World reports that this is Spain’s worst rail crash since 2013, when 80 people died near Santiago de Compostela.
The collision comes ahead of a snap election on November 29. According to BBC World and the Straits Times, most parties have suspended campaigning, while far-right Vox has not. Protests calling for Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Puente to resign are continuing ahead of the vote.
There is no confirmed final death toll. According to BBC World, victims are still being identified, and missing-persons reports were still being gathered. Rescuers are re-searching the wreckage with dogs.
Investigators will examine the LZB safety system failure and the decisions made by the control centre. The cause of the signalling failure has not been confirmed.
Sources
This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.