Spain investigates train collision that killed 69

Spain is investigating the October 28 train collision near Urda in Toledo province that killed 69 people. Transport Minister Óscar Puente said Friday, 30 October, that the LZB rail safety system had gone offline 170 times in 2026. He called that frequency “normal” compared with the average in recent years.

The Associated Press, in an article published by Fortune, said 39 people remained hospitalized Friday out of more than 200 injured. Independent rail investigators and a judge are still examining the cause.

This was the second major collision on the Madrid–Seville line this year. In January, a train derailed and hit an oncoming train, killing 46 people. That accident also remains under investigation.

What happened after the safety system failed

LZB uses digital sensors to monitor train positions and can automatically apply brakes to prevent a collision. The backup system did not prevent this crash because both trains were within the same stretch between 2 analog sensors.

Independent investigators’ initial findings put the Renfe train’s impact speed at between 160 and 200 kilometers per hour.

The minister and unions dispute what went wrong

Puente called the authorization to restart at normal speed while the other train remained stationary “erroneous.” On Friday, he said the information pointed to a control-center mistake, while saying he would not use a worker as a shield.

Raquel Ayllón, spokesperson for SCF, Spain’s railway traffic controllers’ union, said workloads regularly exceeded what current staffing could safely handle. She accused Puente of blaming a worker facing worsening conditions. Joan Rodríguez, a representative of Spain’s train workers’ union, questioned whether opening high-speed passenger rail to private operators had been matched by the necessary maintenance.

Passenger traffic grew after private operators entered the market. Puente defended his ministry’s staffing record by citing an increase in controllers.

At the time of the collision, the Madrid control post had 16 controllers, including 2 monitoring the Madrid–Seville line.

SEMAF, Spain’s train engineers’ union, said LZB repeatedly went offline while being phased out. Its spokesperson Diego Martín said the system should already have been replaced. Puente linked outages generally to vandalism, maintenance work and bad weather. He said Spain was ahead of most European countries in replacing LZB with a new system required by the European Union.

Investigators examine recordings

Rail accident investigators removed the trains’ black boxes late Thursday, 29 October, and handed them to the Civil Guard for inspection. In its October 29 article, EFE said the judge would also examine conversations between train drivers and the Atocha control center.

Police with sniffer dogs continued searching the wreckage Friday, and regional authorities said the death toll could still rise. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the site that day and called it unacceptable for Spain’s high-speed railway to suffer 2 accidents of this kind in the same year.

Passenger assistance and the next scheduled steps

Puente, who faces calls to resign, is scheduled to appear at his own request before the Permanent Deputation of Spain’s Congress on 3 November to explain the accident.

Iryo said it would provide affected customers with full ticket refunds and alternative transportation, plus accommodation and meal expenses where necessary.

SEMAF has announced a full-day strike at the Renfe Group on 10 November and partial stoppages on 12 November. The union says commitments to structural railway-safety changes have not been fulfilled.