On the morning of 28 October 2026, in central Spain, in the province of Toledo (approximately 140 km south of Madrid, between the towns of Urda, Mora and Orgaz / Los Yébenes), two high-speed trains traveling in the same direction on the Madrid–Seville line collided. A train operated by the state-owned company Renfe (AVE) struck the rear of a stationary train operated by the private company Iryo at high speed. As a result, two carriages of the Iryo train derailed and fell down the embankment, and carriages of both trains sustained serious damage.
According to the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha, at least 68 people were killed (about 44 on the Iryo train and 24 on the Renfe train). Dozens more were injured: according to various reports, between 58 and approximately 80–100 people were taken to hospitals, 15 of them in serious or critical condition. More than 540 passengers were on board the two trains (approximately 147 on the Iryo train, including one infant, and 397 on the Renfe train). Rescue workers continue operations at the scene, including nighttime searches using heavy equipment, drones and helicopters; the death toll may rise.
According to preliminary information from Transport Minister Óscar Puente, the disaster was caused by a combination of a failure in the LZB computer signaling system (at around 8:30 a.m. on a stretch of about 63 km) and a subsequent “inexplicable” error by the dispatch center in Madrid. After the trains were automatically stopped, the center authorized the Renfe train to resume movement without speed restrictions, despite a red signal and the stationary train ahead. The investigation is ongoing; Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the situation unacceptable and promised a rigorous inquiry into the causes.
Sánchez declared three days of national mourning (29–31 October). This is the second serious collision involving high-speed trains operated by Renfe and Iryo in 2026: in January a similar accident on the same line claimed 46 lives. The disaster has become one of the deadliest in Europe in recent years and the largest in Spain since the 2013 crash near Santiago de Compostela.
The situation at the scene remains complex, and authorities have suspended service on the affected section of the line.
