Spain rail disaster: At least 39 dead in crash between two high-speed trains in Toledo province

At least 39 people are believed dead after a high-speed train slammed into the rear of another train that had stopped on the same line in central Spain.

The regional president of Castilla La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, said at least 30 people died in the crash and warned that the death toll could rise. He added that at least 80 people were injured.

The Sun released the higher death toll shortly after the incident was confirmed at 9am, local time, Wednesday in the province of Toledo by rail system operator ADIF. Rail service was suspended between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia.

It was the second major train accident in Spain this year.

The accident was between two high-speed trains carrying hundreds of passengers and heading in the same direction from the capital Madrid to Seville in southwestern Spain, according to Esther Padilla, spokeswoman for the Castilla La Mancha region.

One ran into the tail of the other that had stopped, knocking two of its cars off the track.

Padilla told state broadcaster TVE that the cause of the crash was not known. Rail service was suspended between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia.

The crash, which occurred in a flat stretch surrounded by olive fields in between the towns of Urda and Los Yébenes, left one car shredded into bits of metal and other material, scattering debris down a gravel slope.

Spanish Health Minister Mónica García told TVE that emergency workers were focusing on rescuing survivors and bodies from the two most damaged train cars. She said that the injured are being sent to different hospitals in the area.

“It was a high-speed impact, so we are expecting this to be a tragedy,” García said.

The accident involved a train from Spain’s state-owned RENFE company and the private rail company IRYO. It appeared the RENFE train rammed the IRYO train, Spanish media reported. García-Page said 24 died in the RENFE train, and six in the IRYO one.

Padilla said that 397 passengers were in the RENFE train and 147 passengers in the IRYO train.

Trains from those two companies were also involved in a deadly crash in January.

IRYO, an Italian-owned company, said in a statement that it has “activated its security protocols and is closely working with authorities.”

The mayor of the nearby town of Urda, Manuel Galán, told TVE that civil protection authorities had asked his town hall to prepare a sports pavilion to attend to injured passengers.

A military emergency brigade was deployed to help emergency services, firefighters and police. Ambulances and medical helicopters made trips to and from the site, while unscathed survivors were put on buses.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez canceled his agenda to focus on the crash. He wrote on X that he was “dismayed by the serious train accident in Toledo.”

“Emergency services are working on site to attend to the affected passengers,” wrote Sánchez, who faces a national election next month. “All my thoughts are with the victims and their families.”

Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia said in a short statement on X that they were following news of the accident.

“We are deeply saddened and concerned by the train accident in Urda (Toledo),” the royal couple said. “We share in the grief of the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives, and we send our heartfelt support to the injured and all those affected.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said “My heart goes out to the victims’ families and loved ones. Today, Europe mourns with you.”

Spain already suffered a devastating train crash this year

The wreckage of Wednesday’s crash reminded many of the aftermath of another train collision in January, when 45 people died in southern Spain when a IRYO train jumped the track and hit an oncoming RENFE train. That sent the first two cars of the impacted train plummeting down a four-meter (13-foot) slope.

That crash was the deadliest in Spain since a 2013 crash that killed 80 people.

The January incident shook confidence in the European country’s extensive high-speed rail service.

Spain is a leader in high-speed rail

Over recent decades, Spain has invested heavily in high-speed rail — which the country’s railway union defines as rails for trains going 250km/h and over — turning it into a world leader.

Spain has laid some 3,900km of such tracks over more than three decades for its 49 million residents. Only China, with 45,000km for its 1.4 billion people, has more high-speed track, according to the International Union of Railways.

Only recently did Spain open its rail network to private companies to compete against RENFE. IRYO started operating in Spain in 2022.