Spain's King Felipe and Queen Letizia attended a memorial service in Madrid on November 10, 2026, for the 69 people killed in last month's train crash near Urda. The king and queen spoke to relatives of the victims after the Catholic Mass, and 28 people remain in hospital.
The memorial follows a crash that killed 69 people and prompted the resignation of Transport Minister Óscar Puente, with the report saying the accident is seen as likely to affect Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's re-election bid before the November 29 general election.
Spain's King Felipe and Queen Letizia attended a memorial service on November 10, 2026, for the 69 people killed in last month's train crash near the town of Urda, about 40 miles from Toledo. The king and queen were greeted by bishops on arrival, applauded by bystanders as they entered the cathedral, and spoke to relatives of the victims after the Catholic Mass.
The crash happened when a high-speed train struck the back of another train that was stationary on the Madrid-Seville line. Twenty-eight people remain in hospital. The report described it as the worst rail tragedy in Spain since 2013 and the country's second major rail accident in 2026, after 46 people died in a collision on the same high-speed line in January.
Archbishop Cerro Chaves told the congregation: "The tragic accident in Urda has left our families, our towns and our society with a pain that is difficult to accept." Representatives of those killed carried lit candles to the front of the cathedral and placed them beside the main altar. Ana Benítez, sister of David Benítez, a 38-year-old father of two who died, gave the first reading.
Senior politicians attended, including opposition People's Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, Castilla-La Mancha regional president Emiliano García-Page and Transport and Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo. Cuerpo took the transport portfolio after Óscar Puente resigned from the post the previous week, following pressure over the crash. Puente had suggested that human error combined with a fault in the safety system may have caused the accident, and the investigation is still in progress.
The report said the crash came a month before Spain's November 29 general election and is seen as likely to hurt Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's attempt to win re-election. The service took place on the same day as a nationwide strike by train drivers demanding greater rail safety, and rail services were expected to be affected across the country on Wednesday by a general strike led by housing activists calling for measures to control rental costs.
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