Spain Orders Probe After Second Train Crash of 2026 Kills 68

Sixty-eight people died on Wednesday when a Spanish high-speed train struck another from behind near the town of Urda in Toledo province, the country's second rail disaster of the year and the first fatal high-speed crash since the network began operations more than three decades ago. The line carried 45 million travelers last year, including tourists.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the site and pledged an investigation. He said the government would work to prevent another tragedy. "It is clear that we need to reinforce the safety of our train service to rebuild the trust in our high-speed rail," Sánchez said. "It is not acceptable for a country like Spain to endure two high-speed train accidents in the same year." His government declared three days of mourning beginning Thursday.

Transport Minister Óscar Puente said a security system covering a 63-kilometer stretch of track failed at 8:30 a.m. due to a computer malfunction, halting trains on that section. The IRYO train stopped near Urda. A RENFE train sat 25 kilometers behind it. Minutes later, a central command center ordered the RENFE train to resume travel with no speed limit. It hit the stationary IRYO train at 8:53 a.m. Puente called the order "inexplicable" and said the drivers bore no blame. He said the RENFE train should not have been cleared to move while a stop signal remained active, or should have been restricted to reduced speed.

Both crashes this year involved one RENFE train and one IRYO train. Spain opened its high-speed market to competition in 2021, and IRYO, an Italian operator, began service the following year. In January, 46 people died when a train left the tracks and struck an oncoming train in the south.

The crash lands four weeks before the national vote, Spain's first since 2023. Sánchez called the early election this month, hoping to turn housing costs and rents into a campaign issue. Polls show his Socialist party facing a difficult race. His main rival, Popular Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, called for a full investigation and canceled his party's campaign events for the day. "This is the moment to respect the dead, the injured and their families," Núñez Feijóo said. "That does not mean we will ignore the fact that Spaniards are asking tough questions that demand answers."

Vox leader Santiago Abascal struck a sharper tone hours after the crash. "More dead. Another tragedy. More rage over being left to fend for ourselves, the despair and the betrayal that Spaniards are enduring," he said. He added that he would work "until this government, which is a criminal organization, is sitting in a courtroom to answer for its crimes." Sánchez has governed since 2018 and won reelection after the pandemic and the inflation surge. His government faces corruption accusations against his party and his wife, which both deny.

Puente, asked whether he would resign after a second major wreck during his tenure, said he was focused on the collision. Emergency workers, firefighters, police and soldiers worked through Wednesday. Cranes began moving damaged train parts late in the day.

The high-speed network ranks second worldwide in track mileage, behind China.