URDA, TOLEDO, CASTILLA-LA MANCHA, SPAIN – OCTOBER 28: One of the trains involved in the accident, on October 28, 2026 in Urda, Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. Two trains collided on the morning of Wednesday, October 28, at the station in the Toledo town of Urda. Firefighters from the Alcázar de San Juan and Orgaz stations, Civil Protection teams from several neighboring towns, three ambulance planes and two mobile intensive care units are currently working at the site. (Photo by Juanma Jiménez/Europa Press via Getty Images)Europa Press News | Europe Press | Getty Images At least 64 people have died in a collision between two trains in the Spanish province of Toledo, authorities have said. The high-speed trains collided shortly before 9:15 a.m. local time (4:15 a.m. ET), as emergency services were deployed to the scene. It happened on the Madrid-Seville line. Transport Minister Óscar Puente told reporters that the control system in the nearby town of Urda failed and six trains were stopped. One was allowed to restart and traveled 25 kilometers before colliding with a stopped train at high speed, he added, saying it was “inexplicable” how it had happened. In addition to the dead, 50 people were also injured, the minister said. Railway infrastructure manager Adif is investigating the sequence of events surrounding the accident, Spanish news agency EFE reported. Traffic on the Madrid-Andalusia high-speed line had been interrupted.SEVILLE ANDALUSIA, SPAIN – OCTOBER 28: Passengers at the Santa Justa station after the train accident in Urda (Toledo), which has forced the suspension of services on the Madrid-Andalusia high-speed line. October 28, 2026, Seville (Andalusia, Spain). The first information about the train accident between Mora and Urda (Toledo), which occurred shortly before 9:00 a.m. this Wednesday, suggests that a Renfe AVE train may have collided from behind with an Iryo train, causing the derailment of two carriages of the Iryo train. (Photo by Francisco J. Olmo/Europa Press via Getty Images)Europa Press News | Europe Press | Getty ImagesThe local government of Castilla La Mancha confirmed that at least 64 people had died, more than another high-speed accident in southern Spain that killed 45 people in January. The trains were operated by AVE and Iryo, according to local media. More than 500 passengers were aboard the two trains, newspaper El País reported. Iryo said his train was “hit from behind” by the Renfe train, saying the cause was “still unknown.” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said in a post on X that he was “shocked” by the accident. “Emergency services are working on the ground to help those affected and ensure their safety, in coordination with all administrations involved,” he said, according to a translation. “My love, solidarity and support to all the victims and their families.” Emergency services work at the site of the railway accident between a Renfe AVE high-speed train and an Iryo train 150 kilometers south of Madrid between Urda and Los Yebenes, in the province of Toledo, on October 28, 2026. Javier Soriano | AFP | Getty Images Sánchez’s political future will be tested in the early elections on November 29, which he called after widespread unrest over the real estate crisis in Spain. Santiago Abascal, leader of the far-right Vox party, which is expected to make gains when Spain goes to the polls, blamed Sánchez’s government for Wednesday’s train accident. “Another tragedy. Again anger at the abandonment, ruin and betrayal suffered by the Spanish people,” he said in a post on X. CNBC’s Charlotte Reed contributed to this article.
