The Spanish government is taking a step forward to respond to both the safety of the railway network and the victims of the tragic accident in Urda, in the province of Toledo. The President of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, had already hinted a few hours after the collision between the two trains at the intention to approve measures to reinforce high-speed safety. A service that, in the words of Sánchez himself, has been "hit" after experiencing two tragedies in less than a year; the one in Toledo and the one in Adamuz (Cordoba) last January. "The goal is to recover [the public's] confidence in the train," government sources insist.

After the new railway accident on the Madrid-Andalusia AVE line –and let's not forget Gelida– there have generally been –with regrettable exceptions– a few days of prudence out of respect for the dead and to focus energy on assisting the victims and their families. But it is very evident that the repercussions of all kinds from this tragedy will be very strong. Also in the political space and regarding the election date of November 29th. The train crash had just occurred and a government advisor already told me: "This changes everything, we must return to minute zero of the pre-election campaign, we need to rethink what should be done with more perspective, once we know the causes and effects of what has happened". Perhaps the best definition was given to me by a friend when he told me that "what has happened is very infuriating, it is very infuriating because it is unacceptable". And he added: "It cannot be that I with my mobile phone can locate anything and a railway control center cannot do the same with a train".

Two railway accidents in Spain in the same year that add up to more than 100 deaths are "unacceptable". The assessment was made this Wednesday by the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, after the tragedy in Toledo. Under normal circumstances, an "unacceptable" event should lead to significant decisions. And, just as it happened after the Adamuz accident, all eyes are once again focused on the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, who for the time being has no intention of resigning. "I am not thinking about myself," he explained this Wednesday to guarantee that he is fully focused on "clarifying the facts and trying to resolve the situation." How will he get out of this one?

“Uncertainty, of course, is what is hardest to bear. But I believe there is one thing that counteracts it, which is hope, which must never be lost”. This is the reflection verbalized this afternoon by Manuel, the brother of one of the missing persons in the train accident in Urda, Toledo, who continues to long for good news. “There are peaks of absolute hope and peaks where you collapse”, admits his sister, Esther. Both have spent the day at the Casa Sacerdotal in Toledo, the space that has been set up for people who have not yet located their relatives. They are looking for Pepe, who is 54 years old and was traveling to Seville for work.

The tragic train accident in Urda, in the province of Toledo, has resulted in dozens of injured and fatalities. An investigation has now been opened – it corresponds to the civil and instruction section of the Court of First Instance of Orgaz (Toledo), in square number 2 – which, taking into account the precedents of the latest railway accidents, such as the Adamuz accident, is expected to be prolonged over time.

The unfortunate chain of technical failures and human errors that ended in the collision of two high-speed trains in Urda, Toledo, opens up many questions about how it could have happened and what technical factors could explain a disaster of these characteristics. Transport sector expert and director of the Terminus Transport Studies Centre, Joan Carles Salmerón, clarifies technical terms and the main unknowns still surrounding the accident for the ARA. There are six questions to provide context and understand key concepts.

This Wednesday, at 8:53 a.m., two high-speed trains collided between the towns of Mora and Urda, in Toledo. For the moment, the victim toll has risen to more than sixty people, but it is feared that the figure will increase even further. We review, with images, how the events unfolded.

At 8:54 in the morning, Nicolás was listening to music sitting in the sixth carriage of an AVE train heading to Seville to visit his girlfriend. He makes this journey three or four times a month. But today was different. All of a sudden, the seats were dislodged, a group of people fell together, they ended up crushed and he could not move. “I looked and I realized that I was on the opposite track. It was like Adamuz. I got up and tried to open the door,” he remembers in conversation with ARA. But, with the impact, he had lost his glasses and could not read the instructions, so he had to ask for help from the other passengers. “When I got out, I could hear the screams from the seventh carriage, which was destroyed. And I saw two people on the ground who were begging me while crying to let them have my mobile to call their family. One could not move and I had to hold the phone for him,” he recounts.

Second railway tragedy in Spain in less than a year on the line between Seville and Madrid, which already ranks as one of the most tragic accidents in the state's railway history. This Wednesday, two high-speed trains, one Renfe AVE and another from Iryo, collided a few minutes before 9 a.m. in Urda, in the province of Toledo. The latest toll of victims stands at 68 dead, and more than a hundred injured admitted to hospitals, according to the government of Castilla-La Mancha. The final number of victims and missing persons, however, is still unknown and authorities fear it will continue to rise.

The National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) has urged Renfe to allow Ouigo to use its workshops in Cerro Negro/Santa Catalina and Fuencarral (in Madrid) and in Can Tunis (in Barcelona), because it considers that these are commitments agreed upon between the two companies.

Competition has warned Renfe and established that it must open its workshops in La Sagra, Toledo, to the competitor operator in high-speed Iryo to be able to carry out the maintenance of its trains. The National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) has partially upheld Iryo's complaint about access to Renfe's heavy maintenance facilities. As the supervisory body communicated this Tuesday, Renfe Mantenimiento must allow Iryo's trains access to the workshop for the disassembly and assembly of their bogies.

Traveling from Barcelona to Madrid by high-speed train now costs 44% less than five years ago, when the sector's liberalization began. Although prices have rebounded this year by 9% compared to 2025, the ticket price is now clearly lower than in 2019, according to data from Trainline, the train and bus ticket sales platform.

Slow service, delays, and maintenance work on the high-speed rail line between Barcelona and Madrid have forced the train companies operating the service—Renfe, Iryo, and Ouigo—to adjust their schedules. Specifically, the rail operators have agreed with Adif, the company responsible for managing and maintaining the infrastructure, to establish new timetables starting this Thursday, February 5, and extend the journey time between Barcelona and Madrid by approximately 25 minutes, according to sources at the Ministry of Labor. As an alternative that is growing in demand these days, Iberia has decided to cap economy class fares on flights from Barcelona to Madrid at 99 euros until February 19. On the high-speed rail network, as explained this Monday, the last trains running each day on this corridor will be eliminated, as they were arriving within the maintenance window during which Adif is dedicated to inspecting and repairing the infrastructure, the source of the current problems.

Problems are piling up on the high-speed rail line between Madrid and Barcelona. Adif, the infrastructure manager, which has been working for days to correct all the defects in the train network, has asked all operators serving this line to cancel the last trains of the day to allow more time for on-site work. In practical terms, this means that starting this Monday, there will be no high-speed service between Barcelona and Madrid after 8:00 p.m. This situation will only affect this corridor, and the Ministry of Transport has not yet specified how long it will last. Renfe, Iryo, and Ouigo have already canceled the last trains of the day because, with all the speed limits that had been established for safetyHigh-speed train journeys are so long that the last trains of the day occupy part of the nighttime maintenance slot. While there is no commercial service, workers thoroughly inspect and repair the infrastructure, and sources at Adif (Spain's railway infrastructure manager) indicate that there is not enough time to carry out the "adequate" checks. Renfe, which operates the AVE high-speed train service, has explained that it is canceling the journeys that departed from Madrid (Atocha station) at 8:27 p.m. and 9:07 p.m. and arrived at Sants station at midnight. Trains departing from Barcelona (Sants) at 9:05 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. and arriving at Atocha station shortly before midnight have also been canceled. "Automatic rebookings have been made for passengers affected by these cancellations," the company explained.

The Railway Accident Investigation Commission (CIAF)The Spanish Railways Authority (AER) issued its first report on Friday regarding the cause of the train accident in Adamuz (Córdoba), based on rail and tread samples. The tread is the outer surface of the train wheel in direct contact with the track. The document suggests that the leading hypothesis is that the left rail of the track broke before the Iryo train passed. "Car 6 derailed due to a complete loss of track continuity," it states. The condition of the railway tracks on this section of the high-speed line in Córdoba has been a focus of the authorities' investigation almost from the outset. At the site of the accident, where an Iryo train car overturned and collided with an Alvia train traveling in the opposite direction, causing 45 fatalities, a broken section of track was identified, as well as damage to the undercarriage of some train cars. marks were detected which could correspond to a defect in the rails, as the Spanish government had explained.

TheInvestigation into Sunday night's train crash in AdamuzThe train crash, which has already left 42 dead, more than a hundred injured, and 43 missing, continues. Moments after the Adamuz train accident, the driver of the Iryo company contacted the Adif control center in Atocha to warn that he had experienced a "coupler" near the town in Córdoba province. The communication, recorded on the train's black box and published by [unclear - possibly "the train" or "the train"].Eldiario.esThe recording contains the initial description of what happened, when the driver still didn't have a complete understanding of the derailment or the extent of the collision with the other train involved. Far from clarifying the facts, however, the audio has raised many questions. How could neither the driver nor the control personnel mention the collision with the Alvia train? How could the control personnel say that "no other train is coming"? The ARA (Argentine Radio and Television Archive) has spoken with several train drivers and experts who, with their experience, provide the necessary context to interpret this call. This is a reconstruction of what likely happened in the minutes following the fatal collision and the call:

"It's a strange accident," said Transport Minister Óscar Puente on Sunday night about the train tragedy in Córdoba, one of the worst in Spanish history, which has claimed, so far, the lives of 40 peopleNow, in clarifying the causes and shedding some light on what happened in Adamuz, the Railway Accident Investigation Commission (CIAF) will play a key role. This Monday, the CIAF opened its investigation into the catastrophe and, in fact, traveled to the site of the accident on Sunday night. The CIAF is an independent body created in December 2007 and attached to the Ministry of Transport. Its main function is to carry out the "technical investigation" of serious railway accidents that occur on the railway network considered to be of general interest—that is, the network under state control—although it can also participate in the investigation of other railway accidents and incidents if deemed appropriate.

The rescue and emergency teams working in Adamuz (Cordoba) in the serious train accident On Sunday, fatalities were found "hundreds of meters" from the point where the trains collided. This was explained on Monday morning by the Andalusian president, Juanma Moreno Bonilla, who added that, in all likelihood, more bodies will be found as the extrication work progresses in the currently inaccessible carriages. At this point, there are still "tons of iron" that must be moved and "broken down" to allow access for heavy machinery, and subsequently, a complex task will begin: the recovery and identification of the bodies. These efforts are the focus of work on the ground now that the first group of injured, 117 adults and five children, has been attended to, 41 of whom are hospitalized (four of them minors). In tragedies like the one in Adamuz—with at least forty missing and forty dead—emergency teams initially work against the clock, in a situation where the "disproportion" between the number of people affected and the impact is evident, explains Juanjo Verge, deputy head of the Medical Emergency System (SEM) in Tarragona and Terres de l'Ebre, who is also responsible for managing mass casualty incidents. When asked about the greatest difficulty in such a catastrophe, he replies: "The initial moment is very complex; there's a chaotic situation where everyone is calling for help. Naturally, you're overwhelmed, and you have to keep a cool head." Following protocols shared with other emergency services, one of the first things SEM teams do upon arrival is deploy medical infrastructure to treat the victims while firefighters begin rescue operations.

High-speed rail in Spain has just marked a dark day in its history. Sunday's train accident in Adamuz (Córdoba), with at least 39 fatalities and around 100 injured, has become the first accident recorded since the network opened more than 30 years ago. In the tragedy, the last cars of a train belonging to the Italian-Spanish company Iryo derailed and collided with a Renfe Alvia train traveling in the opposite direction, further aggravating the accident. Since the liberalization of the rail sector, Iryo has established itself as the second largest operator in the Spanish high-speed market, second only to Renfe. It has also become the largest private operator, surpassing the other major company, the French firm Ouigo.

"It's very strange that it happened on a straight stretch of road." This was one of the first assessments made on Sunday night by railway experts, train drivers, industry workers, and even the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente. The area where they collided Two trains in Adamuz (Cordoba), an accident that has already left at least 40 deadIt's flat terrain: a long straight stretch with the only element being a switch.