Key facts
- A collision south of Toledo on Wednesday killed at least 30 people.
- The accident near Adamuz on January 18, 2026, killed 46 people.
- The 2013 Santiago de Compostela crash killed 80 people.
- The 2004 Madrid commuter train bombings killed 193 people.
- The 1972 El Cuervo collision killed 86 people.
- The 1970 Urduliz collision killed 33 people.
At least 30 people were killed when two high-speed trains collided south of Toledo in Spain on Wednesday, regional authorities said. This is the second deadly accident in less than a year on the line and will likely raise further questions over the country's train infrastructure ahead of November's snap election.
On January 18, 2026, 46 people died and more than 120 were injured in southern Spain after a high-speed train derailed and collided with an oncoming one near Adamuz, in the province of Cordoba. A preliminary report by Spain's Civil Guard pointed to defects in the track as the main hypothesis.
In the summer of 2013, 80 people died and 145 were injured when a high-speed train veered off track on a sharp bend near Santiago de Compostela, slamming into a concrete wall. A Transport Ministry commission concluded the accident was caused by speeding and driver distraction, but a victims' association blamed security systems as well.
On March 11, 2004, 10 backpack bombs detonated on four commuter trains in Madrid during rush hour, killing 193 people and injuring thousands. The attacks were carried out by Islamists opposing Spain's participation in the Iraq war.
In 1972, a head-on collision between two trains on the Cadiz-Seville route left 86 people dead and more than 150 injured near El Cuervo. The accident was caused by a driver's failure to stop at a red light, according to state-owned rail operator Renfe.
A head-on collision of two trains killed 33 people in Urduliz, near Bilbao, in the summer of 1970. A stationmaster, working 16-hour shifts, was initially blamed.
A train on the Madrid-Barcelona route caught fire in Grisen in 1965, killing dozens of passengers. While the operator said 30 died, later reports suggest up to 80, with the Francoist leadership accused of playing it down.
The 1944 crash of three trains in the El Bierzo region of León province is considered one of Spain's deadliest railway disasters, with an estimated 78 deaths debated due to censorship under Francisco Franco. A train with brake failure collided with a locomotive in a tunnel, before a third train crashed into the wreckage.