At least 30 dead as high-speed train rams stopped train near Toledo in Spain; cause not yet known

The reports describe several carriages lying on their sides and others twisted, with some wheels sheared off. A passenger on the Iryo train said that there was a fire in one carriage and that part of a train was hanging down an embankment. Rescuers concentrated on the two most badly damaged cars.

People from the area rushed to the scene, and emergency services, including a helicopter, police and ambulances, arrived within about 20 minutes. The injured were taken to several hospitals in the area. The mayor of Urda, Manuel Galan, arranged for a sports hall to be prepared to house the injured. An emergency telephone line was set up for the families of passengers, and local blood banks appealed for donations. Rail service was suspended on the line between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia.

The reaction

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that he was deeply saddened and expressed sympathy on social media, and the royal family shared in the grief of the families. Spanish political parties paused their campaigns briefly, as the country faces a general election next month, and the football federation postponed some Copa del Rey matches.

The accounts report only that a train ran into the back of one that was stopped. They do not say why the first train stopped, what the signals showed, how fast the second train was moving, or why it did not stop in time. Investigators will examine the track, the signalling system and the data recorders of both trains, and the answers are likely to take time. A report that one of the trains had derailed first is not confirmed.

In January 2026, trains run by the same two operators collided on the Madrid-Seville line near Adamuz, in southern Spain, and 45 people were killed. It was the deadliest rail accident in Spain since 2013, when a crash killed 80 people. At that time, the interior minister said that damage to the track or a fault in one of the trains could not be ruled out, and investigators examined the track.

Wednesday's crash is being described as the second major accident on the route this year, which will raise questions about the safety of the line. Spain has the largest high-speed rail network in Europe, with more than 1,900 miles of track, and the trains run at more than 155 mph.

Investigators in cases of this kind examine the track and the signalling system, the speed and braking of each train, the records of the drivers' actions, the communications between the drivers and the control centre, and the reason why the first train had stopped on the line. None of this has been reported in the first accounts of the crash.

The January crash at Adamuz, near Cordoba, was reported at the time with 45 dead and 123 injured. It involved the same two operators on the same Madrid-Seville line, and it was the deadliest rail accident in Spain in more than a decade. Two crashes on one corridor in a year are likely to bring pressure on the government and on the rail infrastructure manager to explain what has been done since January.

The reports do not mention any Indian nationals among the dead or injured. Indians who have relatives travelling in Spain can contact the Indian embassy in Madrid if they need information.

The toll and the details are likely to change as the rescue is completed and the official figures are released by the regional government and the rail infrastructure manager.