Spain Train Collision in Toledo Kills at Least 68

At least 68 people died when a high-speed train crashed into the rear of a stopped train in central Spain on Wednesday, the regional government of Castilla La Mancha confirmed. Another 58 people are receiving treatment at hospitals. Rail service was suspended between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia.

The collision occurred in the province of Toledo on a stretch of track between the towns of Urda and Los Yébenes. Spain's rail operator ADIF said the crash involved two trains traveling south from Madrid to Seville. A train operated by the state-owned RENFE company struck a train operated by the private company IRYO, which was stopped. The impact derailed two carriages on the rear of the IRYO train and the front of the RENFE train. Authorities said 397 passengers were aboard the RENFE train and 147 passengers were aboard the IRYO train.

Transport Minister Óscar Puente said a security system on a 63 kilometer section of track failed at 8:30 a.m. due to a computer malfunction, stopping all trains in the area. Puente said a central command center then issued an "inexplicable" order for the RENFE train to resume travel without speed restrictions, leading to the 8:53 a.m. collision. Puente said train engineers were not to blame. "I am not attributing responsibility to anyone, I am just stating the facts," Puente said.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the site and announced three days of national mourning. "It is unacceptable for a country like Spain to suffer two high-speed rail accidents in the same year," Sánchez said. The crash follows a January collision involving IRYO and RENFE trains in southern Spain that killed 46 people. Spain's King Felipe VI also visited the site. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, "My heart goes out to the victims' families and loved ones. Today, Europe mourns with you."

A spokesperson for Spain's train workers' union, Joan Rodríguez, told TVE that increased traffic from privatization has put extra strain on rail infrastructure. "We are not convinced that the liberalization of the high-speed passenger rail service was matched by the necessary upkeep of the lines," Rodríguez said. Spain's soccer federation postponed all 24 Copa del Rey games scheduled for Wednesday.

Authorities are still studying data to determine the train's speed at the time of impact. Puente said the train could have been traveling at 200 kph on that stretch of track. Spain has laid some 3,900 kilometers of high-speed track over three decades. There had been no fatal crash on Spain's dedicated high-speed lines since the network opened in 1992, before this year.