At least 46 people died on Wednesday morning when an AVE high-speed train collided from behind with a stationary Iryo train on the Madrid-Andalusia rail line near Urda in Spain’s Toledo province, causing two carriages to derail and plunge down an embankment.
The disaster unfolded shortly after 9 a.m. local time on October 28, 2026, as the state-owned railway company Renfe operated an AVE service traveling from Madrid toward Seville. National rail infrastructure manager Adif immediately suspended all high-speed rail traffic connecting Madrid, Ciudad Real, and Andalusia after the impact hurled the Iryo train violently off the rails. According to emergency services and transport reports, the high-speed train slammed into the rear of an Iryo passenger train that had come to a halt on the tracks between the towns of Los Yébenes and Urda.
Rescuers Deploy to Toledo Province Wreckage
The Castilla-La Mancha Civil Protection Service confirmed that at least 46 people lost their lives in the collision as regional authorities struggled to assess the wreckage. Casualty figures climbed through the morning.
The regional government of Castilla-La Mancha activated its territorial emergency plan, known as PLATECAM, at Level 2 emergency status. Regional President Emiliano García-Page contacted a lieutenant colonel to secure the immediate deployment of Spain’s Military Emergency Unit (UME) to assist local firefighters from Alcázar de San Juan and Orgaz, civil protection units, three sanitary helicopters, and two mobile intensive care units.
At least 39 people have died following a train collision in Spain, reports the television channel Antena 3, citing local emergency services."At least 39 people have died as a result of a collision between two trains on a stretch of track between Los Yébenes and Urda in Toledo,"… pic.twitter.com/mTVOVkmzZg
Passengers Describe Madrid-Seville Crash Impact
Heronimo, a medical advisor traveling toward Seville, recounted the harrowing moments.
Heronimo told B92 that I was working on my laptop when I felt a very strong acceleration and hit the seat in front of me. People flew from their seats.
He told B92 that We were helping the emergency services by holding IV drips with our hands.
Miguel Ángel Pérez, a journalist with Capital Radio who was riding near the rear of the AVE train, told reporters that the collision felt extraordinarily powerful and threw the Iryo composition from side to side.
Human Error Caused Railway Signaling Failure
Sources within the Transport Ministry told ABC that preliminary indications point toward human error involving railway signaling operations. An employee of the state-owned railway company was reportedly working to repair a fault in the primary signaling system and allegedly failed to warn the oncoming AVE train of the stationary Iryo composition.
Rafael Eskudero, a spokesperson for the Railway Union, questioned how the collision could happen on a modern line monitored in real time. Speaking on Antena 3, Eskudero noted that the area lacks a commercial stop and that automated safety systems should have intervened. Veoma je čudno
he remarked, pointing out that trains continuously receive real-time data on track conditions.
Political Leaders Respond to Railway Disasters
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed profound shock over the tragedy, confirming that he remained in constant communication with Transport Minister Óscar Puente and Castilla-La Mancha President Emiliano García-Page. The Spanish government canceled its daily agenda, joining opposition parties in suspending public political events for the day.
The catastrophe near Urda follows a series of serious rail accidents in Spain. On January 18, a collision between two trains near Adamuz in the province of Córdoba killed 45 people and injured more than 150, a disaster that remains the subject of ongoing legal scrutiny led by political figures including Vox leader Santiago Abascal.