According to the government of Castilla-La Mancha, cited by Reuters, at least 64 people died in Wednesday’s train collision near Urda in the province of Toledo. An earlier regional Protección Civil tally from 12:30 p.m. reported at least 50 dead and more than 179 injured; authorities say the death toll may still rise.
The collision occurred on Wednesday, 28 October, in the morning on the high-speed line between Los Yébenes and Urda, about 150 km south of Madrid. The crash involved an AVE train operated by the state-owned Renfe and a train from the private operator Iryo. We previously reported on the high-speed train collision and on the initial hypotheses about the cause.
Death toll: figures differ between sources
The figures changed over the course of the morning. According to El Diario de Madrid, citing the Protección Civil of Castilla-La Mancha, at 12:30 p.m. there were at least 50 fatalities and more than 179 injured. The regional government later told Reuters that at least 64 people had died (as CBS News reports). A local official cited by CBS said he expects the number of dead to rise. Spain’s health minister called the event a „great tragedy” (according to CNBC). No final, official death toll had been published at the time of publication.
How many passengers were on board
According to an official cited by CBS News, the Renfe train carried 397 passengers and the Iryo train 147, for a total of 544 people. El País, as cited by CNBC, reported more than 500 passengers. Guardia Civil officers noted that at least four carriages had overturned. The military Emergency Unit (UME) joined the rescue operation.
Reactions and cause
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote on X that he is „consternado” (stunned), and that he remains in contact with Transport Minister Óscar Puente and regional president Emiliano García-Page.
Renfe announced the suspension of traffic between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia, as well as free ticket changes and cancellations. The operator later expressed condolences to the families of the victims. No cause has been confirmed; Spanish media mention the hypothesis of human error during a signalling failure, but there is no official finding.
A second such disaster this year
This is the second fatal collision of high-speed trains in Spain in 2026 involving Renfe and Iryo. On 18 January near Adamuz in the province of Córdoba, around 40 people died according to the latest reports; investigators described that incident as „tremendamente extraño” („tremendously strange”).
What it means
For travellers in Spain, high-speed traffic between Madrid and Andalusia is suspended, including services to Seville and Málaga. Tickets can be changed or cancelled free of charge; the current status of services is available from Renfe, Iryo and Adif. As of publication, no information had been provided about Polish citizens among the injured.
