Spain’s rail control orders restart with stop signal on, minister says
Transport Minister Óscar Puente says the RENFE train should have stayed stopped, or moved only at reduced speed, before it struck a stationary IRYO train.
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Transport Minister Óscar Puente says the RENFE train should have stayed stopped, or moved only at reduced speed, before it struck a stationary IRYO train.
Spain’s rail control centre instructed a RENFE train to restart without speed restrictions while a stop signal remained active before the October 28 collision, Transport Minister Óscar Puente said. The train should have remained stopped or, at least, been instructed to move at reduced speed.
The October 28 collision killed dozens of people and left dozens more receiving treatment in hospital.
The collision followed another crash involving the same operators in southern Spain in January. An IRYO train derailed and struck an oncoming RENFE train, killing 46 people.
In the account carried by The Associated Press, Puente said a computer malfunction disabled the safety system at 8:30 a.m. on October 28, causing all trains on the affected stretch to stop.
The control centre then told the state-owned RENFE operator’s train to resume without speed restrictions. At 8:53 a.m., it struck the rear of the stationary train operated by private company IRYO.
Puente said the train drivers were not to blame. He also explicitly declined to assign responsibility, saying he was stating the facts.
The trains collided between Urda and Los Yébenes in the central province of Toledo. Rail infrastructure operator ADIF said both were travelling south from Madrid to Seville in the same direction.
Amendments approved on 28 October 2026 require an institutional commission to check the grounds for treatment every 2 months and a court to review them every 6 months.
2 min
| Train operator | Passengers |
|---|
| RENFE | 397 |
| IRYO | 147 |
Rail services were suspended between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for increased safety measures to restore confidence in Spain’s high-speed rail system.
The RENFE train’s actual speed remained unresolved: Puente said authorities were still examining information to determine how fast it was travelling.
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