EU offers technical support as Spain probes Urda high-speed train crash that killed 69

The Urda collision

On Wednesday, 28 October, two high-speed trains collided near Urda in Toledo province, and the crash killed 69 people. La Libre.be reports that a Renfe train struck the back of an Iryo train, which had been forced to stop after a computer failure in its signalling system. The control centre then allowed the Renfe train to resume its journey while the Iryo train was still stationary, and the reason for that decision is not yet known. About 550 people were on board the two trains at the moment of impact, according to the same report. Spain has opened an investigation into the causes of the crash.

A second deadly crash this year

Correio da Manhã places the earlier accident at Adamuz, Córdoba, on 18 January, which killed 46 people. Urda is therefore the second fatal accident involving high-speed trains in Spain this year. Spain's high-speed network stretches 3,993 kilometres and opened in 1992. After the network was opened to competition at the end of 2020, three companies began running high-speed services, and passenger numbers reached nearly 44.5 million in 2025, double the 2019 figure, according to specialists cited by Correio da Manhã. Unions and specialists argue that staffing and maintenance investment have not kept pace with that growth. Correio da Manhã also reports that transport minister Oscar Puente resigned on Tuesday, 3 November, following the accident.

Brussels response

Speaking at a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday, 4 November, EU Transport and Tourism Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas called the pair of accidents very worrying. He said the Commission would wait for the investigation before drawing conclusions about the causes.

“Two accidents in one year is definitely something we do not want to see, especially when these accidents bring tragedies with the loss of human lives.”

He argued that the ERTMS, the EU's common train command and control system, should be deployed on all lines as quickly as possible, and he called for stronger powers for the EU Agency for Railways (ERA).

“It is the only way to reach a high level of safety and also the only way to truly invest in high-speed rail in Europe.”

Adamuz, Córdoba (18 January)46

Urda, Toledo (28 October)69

Adamuz, Córdoba (18 January)

46 deaths

Urda, Toledo (28 October)

69 deaths

Data from the article text

Investigation and ERTMS rollout

The Spanish government asked the ERA for technical support on Wednesday morning, and the Commission said the agency is already providing it. The investigation is led by AITAT, the Independent Administrative Authority for Technical Investigation of Railway, Maritime and Civil Aviation Accidents and Incidents, and Tzitzikostas stressed that it remains under the authority and direction of Spanish investigators.

“It is too early to draw conclusions about the causes of this accident.”

The EU's committed target is to deploy ERTMS across the nine core network corridors by 2030. La Vanguardia reports that the Madrid-Seville line is the only stretch of Spain's high-speed network still running on the original LZB communication system, and that its ERTMS level 2 upgrade is not yet operational.

Wider European context

La Libre.be recalls the 2010 Buizingen crash in Belgium, which killed 19 people and was blamed partly on the absence of ETCS, the in-cab component of ERTMS. It also reports that barely 10% of the trans-European rail network was equipped with ERTMS in 2024, while Belgium had equipped 80% of its network. El País reports that Spain has more ERTMS kilometres on its high-speed network than any other European country.