68 dead in second Spanish rail crash of 2026

MADRID, Spain. A Spanish high-speed train struck a stationary train from behind on Wednesday near the town of Urda, killing 68 people in the country's second rail disaster of the year. The collision occurred at 8:53 a.m. on a stretch of track lined by olive groves in the central province of Toledo. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the site after regional authorities confirmed more than 60 deaths and said dozens of people were being treated at hospitals.

Transport Minister Óscar Puente said the sequence began at 8:30 a.m., when a security system covering a 63 kilometer stretch of line stopped working because of a computer malfunction. Trains on that segment halted. An IRYO train stopped near Urda, and a RENFE train stood 25 kilometers behind it. Minutes later, Puente said, the central command center ordered the RENFE train to resume travel without speed limits. It collided with the stationary IRYO train. Puente called the order "inexplicable," said a stop signal remained active on the line, and said the train engineers were not to blame.

The crash came four weeks before Spain's national election, the first since 2023. Sánchez's government declared three days of mourning starting Thursday. The collision follows a January accident in southern Spain in which 46 people died after one train left the tracks and struck another traveling the opposite direction. Spain's high-speed network, second worldwide in track mileage behind China, had recorded no fatal crash in the more than three decades since it began service. The system carried 45 million travelers last year.

Both 2026 crashes involved a state-owned RENFE train and a train from IRYO, the Italian-owned operator that entered Spain's liberalized high-speed market in 2023. "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." Puente, asked whether he would resign after a second wreck under his watch, said he was focused on the collision.

Popular Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo called for a full investigation and said his party canceled campaign events for the day out of respect for the victims. "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." Vox leader Santiago Abascal said hours after the crash: "I promise to work tirelessly until this government, which is a criminal organization, is sitting in a courtroom to answer for its crimes."

Workers used cranes to move damaged train parts late Wednesday after hundreds of emergency workers, firefighters, police and soldiers took part in rescue and recovery operations throughout the day. Sánchez has pledged an investigation into the collision. Spain's national election is scheduled four weeks from Thursday.