Spain Train Crash Probe Cites 'Inexplicable' Order After Safety System Failure

MADRID, Oct 28: A high-speed train operated by state-owned RENFE struck a stationary IRYO train in central Spain on Wednesday morning, killing at least 68 people and injuring dozens, according to the regional government of Castilla La Mancha. The crash occurred in the province of Toledo on a flat stretch between Urda and Los Yébenes.

Spain's Transport Minister Óscar Puente said the collision followed what he called an "inexplicable" order issued by a central command center for Spain's trains. Puente said a security system covering a 63-kilometer stretch of track stopped working because of a computer malfunction at 8:30 a.m., halting trains on that segment. The command center subsequently instructed the RENFE train to resume travel without speed limits, and it hit the stopped IRYO train at 8:53 a.m.

Puente said a stop signal was still active on the line when the RENFE train was told to move again. He said train engineers were not at fault. "I am not attributing responsibility to anyone, I am just stating the facts," Puente said. He said authorities were still reviewing data to determine the train's speed, noting it could have been traveling at 200 kph on that stretch.

The Castilla La Mancha regional government confirmed the death toll and said 58 people were receiving treatment at hospitals. Authorities said 397 passengers were aboard the RENFE train and 147 aboard the IRYO train. Rail service was suspended between Madrid, Ciudad Real, and Andalusia.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the site and announced three days of national mourning. "It is unacceptable for a country like Spain to suffer two high-speed rail accidents in the same year," Sánchez said. He faces a national election on Nov. 29.

The collision marks the second deadly high-speed rail accident in Spain this year. In January, an IRYO train left the tracks and struck an oncoming RENFE train in southern Spain, killing 46 people. Before this year, Spain had recorded no fatal crashes on its dedicated high-speed lines since the network opened in 1992. The January crash was the deadliest in the country since a 2013 accident that killed 80 people.

Spain has built roughly 3,900 kilometers of high-speed track over three decades for its 49 million residents, trailing only China's 45,000 kilometers, according to the International Union of Railways. The network opened to private operators recently, with Italian-owned IRYO beginning service in 2022.

A spokesperson for Spain's train workers' union, Joan Rodríguez, said increased traffic from privatization has strained rail infrastructure. "We are not convinced that the liberalization of the high-speed passenger rail service was matched by the necessary upkeep of the lines," Rodríguez told TVE on Wednesday. "I am not saying it was a determining factor (in the crashes), but yes, the increase in use of the network is a factor to keep in mind."

Passengers described a sudden, violent impact. Ignacio Relaño, who was aboard the RENFE train, told state broadcaster TVE that the train briefly stopped before restarting and then crashed. "We all felt the train abruptly slowing down and then the impact," Relaño said. "The car leaned to one side like it was about to tip over. I hit my nose, everything went flying, luggage, cell phones. Everything shook."

David Gómez, a construction worker who was nearby, told the newspaper El País that he ran to the site to help. "People were trying to get out through the windows … We cut through some fences to access the area and treated people with the first-aid kits we had brought until emergency services arrived," Gómez said. "As I was trying to pull a young woman out, there was a piece of a leg."

Spain's soccer federation postponed all 24 Copa del Rey games scheduled for Wednesday. King Felipe VI also visited the crash site.