Spanish Transport Minister Blames Train Crash That Killed 68 on ‘Inexplicable’ Error
A high-speed train slammed into another Wednesday, killing at least 68 people and injuring dozens in the country’s second deadly rail collision this year.
On October 28, 2026, a high-speed train collision near Urda, Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain, claimed at least 68 lives and injured dozens more. Transport Minister Óscar Puente blamed the tragedy on a combination of "inexplicable" human error and a computer failure. The incident occurred when the Renfe train, carrying 393 passengers, crashed into the stationary Iryo train, operated by 151 passengers.
Renfe train departed from Madrid at 8:00 a.m., while the Iryo train left earlier at 7:54 a.m. Three computers of the railway network experienced a communication failure at approximately 8:30 a.m., causing the LZB (Linienzugbeeinflussung) control system to go offline along a 63 km stretch of track. The central command center took over manual management of rail traffic.
At 8:36 a.m., the command center authorized the Renfe train to continue its journey despite the 25 km ahead before the collision. The Renfe train reached an unknown speed before the impact, which could have been up to 200 km/h. The regional government of Castilla-La Mancha reported that 53 people were still receiving medical treatment, bringing the total number of people hospitalized to 107.
This is now the deadliest train crash in Spain since a 2013 incident in Santiago de Compostela that killed 80 people.
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