Command error caused fatal Spanish train collision

Two high-speed trains collided in central Spain on Wednesday, killing at least 68 people.

The crash occurred at 8:53 a.m. in the province of Toledo. The regional government of Castilla La Mancha confirmed the death toll. Another 58 people were treated in hospitals. Rescue workers searched the wreckage for survivors and bodies throughout the day.

Transport Minister Óscar Puente attributed the accident to a specific operational failure. He described the cause as an inexplicable decision made by a central command center. A security system covering a 63-kilometer stretch of track failed due to a computer malfunction at 8:30 a.m. This failure stopped all trains on that section. The command center then ordered the RENFE train to resume moving without speed restrictions. The RENFE train hit the rear of a stopped IRYO train. Puente stated that the train should have remained stopped because a stop signal was still active. He noted that if it had moved, it should have done so at a reduced speed.

Puente said the RENFE train may have been traveling at 200 kilometers per hour, or 124 miles per hour. He stated that the train engineers were not to blame. He added that he was stating facts rather than assigning responsibility.

The RENFE train carried 397 passengers. The IRYO train carried 147 passengers. The collision derailed the front carriages of the RENFE train and the rear carriages of the IRYO train. The crash site was a flat area surrounded by olive fields between the towns of Urda and Los Yébenes. Debris scattered down a gravel slope.

Samy Paul, a British tourist rescued from the RENFE train, described the sudden impact. He said everything fell apart and there was blood everywhere. David Gómez, a construction worker nearby, ran to help. He told El Pais that people tried to exit through windows. He and others used first aid kits until emergency services arrived. He recalled pulling a young woman out and seeing a piece of a leg.

Ignacio Relaño, a passenger on the RENFE train, told state broadcaster TVE that the train slowed abruptly before the impact. He said the car leaned to one side and luggage flew through the carriage.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the crash site. He declared three days of national mourning. He called for increased safety measures to restore confidence in the rail system. He noted that it is unacceptable for Spain to suffer two high-speed rail accidents in the same year. Sánchez faces a national election on November 29.

King Felipe VI also visited the site. The royal family said in a statement that they share in the grief of the families. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe mourns with the victims. Spain's soccer federation postponed all 24 Copa del Rey games scheduled for Wednesday.

This is the second deadly rail crash in Spain this year. A collision in January killed 46 people when an IRYO train jumped the tracks and hit an oncoming RENFE train in southern Spain. That was the deadliest crash since 2013. Spain has 3,900 kilometers of high-speed track, the most in Europe. The country opened its network to private competition recently. IRYO, an Italian-owned company, started operating in Spain in 2022. Joan Rodríguez, a spokesperson for the train workers' union, told TVE that increased traffic from privatization has strained the infrastructure. He said the liberalization was not matched by necessary upkeep.

Rail service between Madrid, Ciudad Real, and Andalusia was suspended. Ambulances and helicopters moved injured people from the site. Unharmed survivors were placed on buses. A military emergency brigade was deployed to assist.