Toledo train collision toll rises to 31 with 80 injured, regional president says 24 died on the Renfe train

Since regional officials first confirmed 10 deaths this morning, Oct. 28, the toll from the collision between a Renfe train and an Iryo train near Urda has climbed to 31, according to the Castilla-La Mancha government. At least 80 people are injured.

Regional president Emiliano García-Page gave the first breakdown of the dead. He said 24 died on the Renfe train and six on the Iryo train, and he warned the toll could still rise. The 31st death was added shortly afterward.

Passengers on board

Regional spokeswoman Esther Padilla said 397 passengers were on the Renfe train and 147 on the Iryo train. El País put the total aboard both trains at more than 500.

What happened on the line

Both trains were heading from Madrid to Seville. One train ran into the rear of the other, which had stopped, and knocked two of its cars off the track; Spanish media reported that it appeared the Renfe train rammed the Iryo train. The impact came on a flat stretch of farmland between Urda and Los Yébenes.

Iryo, an Italian-owned company, said it has activated its security protocols and is working closely with authorities. Rail service between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia remains suspended, according to Adif, the infrastructure manager.

A passenger named Miguel, traveling in the rear car of one of the trains, told COPE radio: "We heard a massive roar, a truly enormous thud that went on for 10 seconds, as if the train were about to derail."

Cause still open

Padilla said the cause is not known. Adif is investigating the sequence of events, according to the EFE news agency.

Government sources told El País that an Adif operator appears to have made a mistake after the railway signalling system failed. Those systems are automated but rely on manual operation when signals fail. That account comes from unnamed sources, and officials say they do not know for certain what caused the collision.

Health Minister Mónica García said rescuers were concentrating on the two most badly damaged cars. "It was a high-speed impact, so we are expecting this to be a tragedy," she said. The injured are being sent to different hospitals in the area. Urda's town hall was asked to prepare a sports pavilion for the injured, and a military emergency brigade has been deployed.

Election politics

The crash lands weeks before a snap general election that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called after widespread unrest over Spain's housing crisis. Sánchez cancelled his agenda and wrote on X that he was "dismayed by the serious train accident in Toledo."

Santiago Abascal, leader of the far-right Vox party, which is expected to make gains in the vote, blamed the government. "Tragedy again. Rage again over the neglect, the ruin, and the betrayal suffered by the Spanish people," he wrote on X. The cause has not been officially determined, and no finding links the crash to government policy.

Spanish political parties said they would briefly pause campaigning. The Spanish football federation postponed all first-round Copa del Rey matches as a mark of respect. The European Commission said it stands ready to support the Spanish authorities in any way needed, while cautioning it is too early to draw conclusions.

Second disaster on the same line

The crash comes months after the January collision near Adamuz, in Córdoba, on the same Madrid-Andalusia route and involving trains from the same two operators. In that crash a train jumped the track and hit an oncoming train; most outlets reported 45 dead, while the Guardian reported 46. It was Spain's deadliest rail accident since a 2013 crash that killed 80 people. Government sources told El País this collision could end up worse than Adamuz.

It is unclear whether the death toll will climb further. An emergency phone line has been set up for families, and Adif's investigation into the sequence of events has yet to report.