On October 28, two passenger trains collided on the Madrid–Seville high-speed line in the province of Toledo. According to official figures from the regional authorities of Castilla-La Mancha, 30 deaths have been confirmed, and this number is expected to rise. Other sources provide higher figures; citing the Civil Protection service, they report 46 fatalities and 178 injuries.

The accident occurred around 09:00 local time near the towns of Mora, Orgaz, and Urda, at approximately the 118th kilometer of the line. The railway infrastructure operator, Adif, reported that a rear-end collision took place between a train operated by the state-owned company Renfe and a train run by the private operator Iryo. Both trains were traveling from Madrid to Seville.

According to preliminary information, a Renfe train collided with the rear of an Iryo train that was stopped on the same track. The impact caused two carriages of the Iryo train to derail. Spain’s Ministry of Transport reported that there were 397 passengers on the Renfe train and 146 on the Iryo train, including an infant—a total of more than 540 people on board. Some media outlets have provided a different breakdown of passenger numbers between the two trains, so these figures are currently being verified.

The causes of the collision have not yet been established, and the investigation is ongoing. Some publications have suggested that human error could be a factor, but there is no official confirmation of this theory.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that he was shocked by the incident, is in constant contact with the Minister of Transport, and has canceled his scheduled engagements. One of the passengers, a 17-year-old, told a Spanish television channel that there was chaos at the scene of the accident and described the event as a catastrophe.

Adif has suspended high-speed rail services between Madrid and Andalusia in both directions. Iryo has cancelled all departures from Madrid-Puerta de Atocha station heading south. Renfe is offering passengers whose travel has been disrupted the option to exchange or return their tickets free of charge. Iryo stated that it has activated all emergency protocols and is working in coordination with the authorities.

The blood transfusion center in Madrid and the blood bank in Toledo have urged residents to donate blood urgently, as the number of casualties may rise.

This is the second major railway disaster in Spain in recent months. In January, near Adamuz in the province of Córdoba, an Iryo train derailed and collided with an oncoming Renfe train. More than 40 people died in that incident. It was the country’s deadliest railway accident since 2013, when 80 people were killed near Santiago de Compostela.