URDA, TOLEDO, CASTILE-LA MANCHA, SPAIN – OCTOBER 28: One of the trains involved in the accident, on 28 October, 2026 in Urda, Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. Two trains collided on the morning of Wednesday 28 October at the station in the Toledo town of Urda. Firefighters from the Alcazar de San Juan and Orgaz stations, Civil Protection teams from several neighbouring villages, three air ambulances and two mobile intensive care units are currently working at the scene. (Photo By Juanma Jimenez/Europa Press via Getty Images)
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At least 68 people have been killed 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), when emergency services were deployed to the scene. It occurred on the Madrid to Seville line.
Transport Minister Óscar Puente told reporters in Madrid that the control system at the nearby town of Urda failed and six trains were stopped. One was allowed to restart and travelled 25km before hitting a stopped train at high speed, he added, saying it was “inexplicable” how this had happened.
As well as those killed, 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.
SEVILLE ANDALUSIA,, SPAIN – OCTOBER 28: Passengers at Santa Justa station following the train accident in Urda (Toledo), which has forced the suspension of services on the Madrid–Andalusia high-speed line. 28 October 2026, Seville (Andalusia, Spain). Initial reports of the train accident between Mora and Urda (Toledo), which occurred shortly before 9.00 am on Wednesday, suggest that a Renfe AVE train may have collided with an Iryo train from behind, causing two carriages of the Iryo train to derail. (Photo By Francisco J. Olmo/Europa Press via Getty Images)
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The local Castilla-La Mancha government confirmed at least 68 people had died, higher than another high-speed crash in southern Spain that killed 45 people in January.
Emiliano GarcÃa-Page, the president of the region, said 24 people had died on a train operated by rail operator Renfe, with the rest killed on a train operated by Iryo.
More than 500 passengers were on board the two trains, newspaper El PaÃs said.
Iryo said its train was “struck from behind” by the Renfe train, saying the cause was “still unknown”.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a post on X that he was “shocked” by the accident.
“If there has been any negligence, it will come to light,” he later said at a press conference.
“If there have been failures in the safety system, they will be addressed with the utmost firmness. It is clear that we have experienced two terrible tragedies involving high-speed rail within the same year.”
Emergency services work at the site of a train crash between a high speed Renfe AVE train and Iryo train around 150kms south of Madrid between Urda and Los Yebenes in the province of Toledo, on October 28, 2026.
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Sanchez’s political future will be tested in a snap election on Nov. 29, which he called following widespread unrest over Spain’s housing crisis.
Santiago Abascal, leader of the far-right Vox party — which is expected to make gains when Spain goes to the polls — pointed the finger at Sanchez’s government over the train accident on Wednesday.
“Tragedy again. Rage again over the neglect, the ruin, and the betrayal suffered by the Spanish people,” he said in a post on X.
— CNBC’s Charlotte Reed contributed to this article.
