At least 64 people were killed and about 80 injured when two high-speed trains operated by Renfe and Iryo collided near Urda in Spain’s Toledo province on Wednesday. The crash occurred on the Madrid–Seville route shortly after 9 a.m., disrupting services between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia as rescue teams searched the wreckage and authorities warned that the death toll could rise.
Initial reports indicated that a Renfe train struck the rear of a stationary Iryo train. Both services were travelling south from Madrid, with 397 passengers aboard the Renfe train and 147 on the Iryo service, including a baby. Several carriages derailed, with two Iryo coaches and one Renfe coach reportedly falling down an embankment.
The collision took place on the high-speed line between Mora and Orgaz, in the section running between Urda and Los Yébenes. Adif-managed infrastructure was closed to traffic while emergency crews worked at the site, suspending high-speed operations on one of Spain’s principal corridors.
The cause had not been established. Preliminary accounts referenced a possible signalling failure and suspected human error, but investigators had not confirmed either explanation. The final casualty figures, train speeds, signalling status and sequence of events remained under investigation.