At Least 69 Dead After High-Speed Trains Collide Near Urda in Spain
At least 69 people died and more than 100 were injured on Wednesday 28 October 2026, when a high-speed train collided with a stationary train near Urda in Toledo province, central Spain, according to Spanish regional authorities and investigators. It was one of the deadliest rail disasters in Spain in recent years.
The collision happened at about 08:53 local time near Urda station, at kilometre 118 of the Madrid to Seville high-speed line, according to reporting by CNN, Reuters and El País. A Renfe AVE train, service 2080 travelling from Madrid to Seville with about 379 passengers and seven crew members on board, struck an Iryo train, service 6076, which was stopped at a signal. The Iryo train was carrying about 147 passengers and five crew members.
The toll remains provisional
The figures should be treated as provisional and may change. The death toll was briefly reported as 74 before being corrected to 69, and reporting on the number of people injured has varied, with some reports putting the figure above 200 and about 110 people taken to hospital. This article uses the figure of at least 69 dead and more than 100 injured, as attributed to Spanish regional authorities and investigators.
CNN reported that former minister Fátima Báñez was among those killed, citing confirmation by her party. No other individual victims are named here.
What the preliminary investigation has found
Spain's rail accident investigation body, AITAT, published a preliminary report on 29 October 2026. According to that report, as described by Transport Minister Óscar Puente and in news reporting, the LZB signalling system failed from about 08:31, forcing degraded operation on the line. The Renfe train was authorised to proceed, travelled about 25 kilometres, and struck the stationary train at an estimated speed of 160 to 200 kilometres per hour.
The cause of the collision has not yet been definitively established. The preliminary report sets out a sequence of events; it does not give a final cause, and the investigation is continuing.
Mourning and disruption
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced three days of national mourning, from Thursday to Saturday. On 30 October, he said the victims may include people of up to 27 nationalities, according to news reporting. High-speed services between Madrid and Andalusia were suspended after the collision.
The Urda collision is the second deadly high-speed rail crash in Spain in 2026, after a crash at Adamuz in Córdoba on 18 January, in which 46 people died, according to news reporting. The investigation into the Urda collision is continuing.
Sources: CNN, Reuters and El País reporting, 29–30 October 2026; preliminary report by Spain's AITAT, 29 October 2026.