Spain Train Crash Kills 68 as Election Nears

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez traveled to the crash site in the province of Toledo after regional authorities confirmed 68 people died when a RENFE high-speed train struck a stationary IRYO train near the town of Urda on Wednesday.

Transport Minister Óscar Puente said a computer malfunction disabled the security system across a 63-kilometer stretch of track at 8:30 a.m., halting all trains on that line. The IRYO train stopped near Urda, and the RENFE train was 25 kilometers behind it. Minutes later, the central command center ordered the RENFE train to resume travel without speed limits. It collided with the stationary IRYO train at 8:53 a.m. Puente called the order "inexplicable" and said the train engineers were not to blame. He said a stop signal remained active on the line and that the train should not have been told to move, or should have been restricted to reduced speed.

This marks Spain's second deadly high-speed rail crash this year. In January, 46 people died in southern Spain when one train left the tracks and struck another traveling in the opposite direction. Spain's high-speed network, second to China in track mileage, had not recorded a fatal crash since service began more than three decades ago. The system carried 45 million travelers last year. Both crashes this year involved a state-owned RENFE train and a privately operated IRYO train. Spain opened its high-speed rail market to competition in 2021, and IRYO began service the following year.

Sánchez pledged an investigation and safety improvements. "It is clear that we need to reinforce the safety of our train service to rebuild the trust in our high-speed rail," he said. "It is not acceptable for a country like Spain to endure two high-speed train accidents in the same year." His government declared three days of mourning starting Thursday.

The collision came four weeks before Spain's national election, its first since 2023. Sánchez called early elections earlier this month, and polls show his Socialist party faces a difficult race. About an hour before news of the crash spread, Sánchez posted on X that "There are lots of reasons to be optimistic about this country." Puente, asked whether he would resign after a second major wreck under his watch, said he was focused on the collision, not his future.

Popular Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo called for a full investigation and said his party canceled campaign events for the day. "This is the moment to respect the dead, the injured and their families," he said. "That does not mean we will ignore the fact that Spaniards are asking tough questions that demand answers." Vox leader Santiago Abascal said, "More dead. Another tragedy. More rage over being left to fend for ourselves, the despair and the betrayal that Spaniards are enduring."

Cranes began moving damaged train parts late Wednesday after hundreds of emergency workers, firefighters, police and soldiers worked through the day to rescue survivors and recover bodies.