High-Speed Collision in Toledo Kills 64 as Trains Crash Head-On

Rail service suspended between Madrid and Andalusia on Wednesday after a high-speed train collided with a stopped service in the province of Toledo, leaving at least 64 people dead. The crash occurred in a flat area of olive fields between the towns of Urda and Los Yébenes. Emergency crews searched the wreckage for survivors and recovered bodies while injured passengers were transported to local hospitals.

The central government office for Castilla La Mancha confirmed the rising death toll. Emiliano García-Page, the regional president, stated that at least 80 people were injured. Authorities have not yet determined the cause of the accident. Esther Padilla, a spokesperson for the Castilla La Mancha region, noted that hundreds of passengers were traveling in the same direction from Madrid toward Seville when the impact occurred.

Spanish media reported that a train operated by the state-owned RENFE struck the rear of a private IRYO train that had stopped on the line. The collision knocked two cars off the track. One car was shredded into metal fragments, scattering debris down a gravel slope. García-Page reported that 24 fatalities occurred in the RENFE train and six in the IRYO service. Passenger counts stood at 397 for the RENFE train and 147 for the IRYO train.

Ignacio Relaño, a passenger on the RENFE train, described the sequence of events to state broadcaster TVE. He said the train slowed abruptly before the impact. “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.”

Spanish Health Minister Mónica García stated that emergency workers focused on the two most damaged cars. She described the high-speed impact as a tragedy. A military emergency brigade was deployed to assist firefighters, police, and medical teams. Ambulances and helicopters moved personnel to and from the site, while unharmed survivors were bused away. The mayor of Urda, Manuel Galán, said civil protection authorities requested the town hall prepare a sports pavilion to treat injured passengers.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez canceled his schedule to monitor the response. He expressed dismay on X regarding the serious accident in Toledo. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia issued a statement on X saying they were deeply saddened and concerned by the accident in Urda. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote that Europe mourned with the victims' families. The Spanish soccer federation postponed all 24 Copa del Rey games scheduled for that Wednesday.

This incident marks the second major train accident in Spain this year. In January, a crash in southern Spain killed 46 people when an IRYO train jumped the track and struck an oncoming RENFE train. That January collision was the deadliest in Spain since 2013. Spain has invested in high-speed rail infrastructure for decades, laying 3,900 kilometers of track for its 49 million residents. Joan Rodríguez, a spokesperson for the train workers' union, told TVE that increased traffic from privatization has strained the infrastructure.

IRYO, an Italian-owned company, stated that it activated security protocols and worked closely with authorities. The company began operating in Spain in 2022, following the opening of the rail network to private competition against RENFE. Rodríguez said the liberalization of high-speed passenger service was not matched by necessary line upkeep, though he did not identify it as the determining factor in the crashes.