Transport Minister says decision to let AVE proceed before fatal Toledo crash was ‘inexplicable’

Spain's Transport Minister, Óscar Puente, has expressed his bewilderment over the decision to permit a high-speed AVE train to resume normal operation while an Iryo service remained stationary, just before the deadly crash near Urda in Toledo on Wednesday. Speaking at Adif's Atocha control center in Madrid, Puente revealed that the AVE was granted authorization to proceed despite a mandatory stop signal, a red light, and the presence of the stationary Iryo on the track.

The collision resulted in at least 64 fatalities, according to the Castilla-La Mancha government. Puente's account traced a chain of events beginning with a computer communications failure shortly before the crash. The minister's explanation focused on the decision to restart the AVE, positioning it as a key point of inquiry into the disaster, though the precise train speed and other details remained unclear.

Puente opened by expressing his dismay and solidarity with the victims' families, describing the rear-end collision on Spain's railway network as 'one of the hardest moments anyone can face'. A communication fault involving three computers on the network occurred around 8:30am, disabling the LZB train control and protection system along a 63-kilometer stretch near Urda station.

This automatic halt affected six trains, with Adif's control center at Atocha taking over manual management of the section. The control center communicated with the halted trains and issued instructions for service restarts. Puente questioned the legitimacy of the 8:36am authorization for the AVE to resume its journey, stating that the circumstances warranted an 'inexplicable' decision.

The AVE traveled approximately 25 kilometers over 17 minutes before colliding with the Iryo at 8:53am, although its exact speed at impact has yet to be determined. Both trains were en route from Madrid to Seville when the collision occurred near kilometre 118 of the Madrid-Andalusia high-speed line, near Urda station. Over 540 passengers were onboard the two trains at the time of the collision.