LATEST: At least 46 dead and up to 120 injured in Toledo high-speed train collision

Renfe AVE service rear-ends stationary Iryo train near Urda station in Spain's second major rail disaster in nine months along the Madrid-Andalucía line

28/10/2026 Actualizado a las 11:29h.

At least 46 people have been killed and between 100 and 120 injured after a Renfe AVE high-speed train collided with a stationary Iryo ... service near Urda in Toledo province on Wednesday morning - the second disaster in a year on the Madrid-Andalucía line.

The disaster occurred at 8.54am at kilometre 118 of the Madrid–Seville high-speed line, between the towns of Mora, Orgaz and Urda. A total of 544 passengers were aboard the two trains at the time of the crash, including 397 on the Renfe AVE and 147 on the Iryo service.

The force of the rear-end collision derailed four carriages on the Iryo train, sending at least two plunging down an embankment in a remote, rural area of the Montes de Toledo. Civil Protection sources confirmed the provisional death toll of 46, while Esther Padilla, spokesperson for the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha, warned that the figure is expected to rise as search and rescue operations continue inside the wreckage.

The collision marks the second major high-speed rail disaster on the Madrid-Andalucía corridor in nine months, following the crash in Adamuz (Cordoba) on 18 January 2026, which also claimed 46 lives.

Traffic management failure and LZB system error under investigation

Initial lines of inquiry by accident investigators point to potential human error linked to rail traffic management, following an technical fault in the line's LZB automatic train protection and signalling system.

Preliminary reports indicate that the LZB failure had forced rail traffic controllers to switch to manual traffic management procedures, bringing several trains along the corridor to a halt. While the Iryo service remained stationary on the track awaiting clearance, the Renfe AVE service (train 02080, bound from Madrid-Puerta de Atocha to Seville-Santa Justa) continued along the line.

Investigators from the CIAF (Railway Accident Investigation Commission) are examining whether control staff at Madrid's Atocha traffic control centre improperly authorised the AVE train to proceed into the occupied sector without verifying that the track ahead was clear.

"The impact was tremendous," said Roberto Gómez Ramos, a passenger aboard the AVE train. "A man fell on top of me, but we were able to help each other out. From our carriage, we could see one of the Iryo carriages completely destroyed off the tracks."

Mass emergency deployment and national political response

Castilla-La Mancha regional authorities activated Level 2 of the Regional Emergency Plan (Platecam) and requested the immediate deployment of the Military Emergency Unit (UME).

Emergency crews facing difficult terrain deployed three air ambulances, two mobile intensive care units, and fire crews from Alcázar de San Juan and Orgaz.

Additional medical and rescue reinforcements have been dispatched from the Community of Madrid, Andalucía, Navarre, and Castilla y León. A field hospital has been erected at the site to triage the injured before transfer to hospitals in Toledo and Alcázar de San Juan, while local authorities in Urda have converted a municipal sports hall into an emergency reception centre.

Transport Minister Óscar Puente suspended his official agenda to oversee operations from the Atocha control centre alongside Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, while the Congress of Deputies suspended all scheduled parliamentary activity.

Infrastructure manager Adif has suspended all rail services along the Madrid-Andalucía corridor indefinitely. Renfe has opened a dedicated helpline for affected families (900 10 10 20) and established a psychosocial support centre at Madrid-Atocha station.