The accident comes nine months after another rail disaster that killed 46 people Two high-speed trains have collided in Spain on the line connecting Madrid to Spain’s southern Andalusia region, killing at least 68 people, rail infrastructure manager Adif and regional civil protection sources said on Wednesday. The collision comes nine months after an accident between high-speed trains belonging to the same operators on the same line that killed 46 people. That crash in January, which occurred after a train derailed and smashed into an oncoming train near Adamuz, in Córdoba province, triggered a debate about the level of investment in railway maintenance in recent years. “Traffic on the Madrid-Andalusia high-speed rail line has been suspended following a rear-end collision between two trains,” Adif said in a message posted on X on Wednesday. The Spanish newspaper El País reported, citing government sources, that human error by an Adif employee responding to a fault in the main signaling system was being investigated as a possible cause. The cause of the crash has not been established. A Renfe and an Iryo train crashed at 8:54 a.m. (0754 GMT), causing two Iryo wagons to derail, a government spokesperson for the Castilla-La Mancha region said, adding that the cause and number of injuries were still being determined. According to the 20minutos news website, one of the trains had stopped or slowed significantly several minutes before the collision because of problems with traffic on the line. The Renfe train, also travelling from Madrid to Seville, then struck it from behind. Footage by regional Castilla-La Mancha Television showed a derailed train with at least one carriage remaining on an elevated section of track while twisted metal, broken panels and wreckage could be seen strewn across an embankment beneath the line. Emergency services said two carriages had fallen down an embankment. Numerous ambulances and helicopters were sent to the scene, while nearby hospitals prepared to receive injured passengers. The authorities in Castilla-La Mancha requested support from the military emergency unit. Infrastructure manager Adif said the incident occurred on the line from Madrid to Seville. Manuel Galán, mayor of nearby town of Urda, told Cadena SER that emergency services had asked the town council to prepare emergency facilities, including a sports hall, to accommodate passengers and the injured. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote on X: “I am shocked by the serious train accident in Toledo province. My condolences, solidarity and support for all the victims and their families.” Sánchez’s agenda, published on the Spanish government’s website, had been cleared for the day. The opposition People’s Party also cancelled all campaign events, a spokesperson said. Poland’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Maciej Wewiór said the ministry was checking media reports about the crash and that the Polish consulate in Spain was working on the matter. “For now, there is no information about injured Poles,” he told reporters.
