Spain’s rail infrastructure operator ADIF has suspended services on the affected routes.
The line is undergoing a technological upgrade, including the installation of the newer ERTMS Level 2 system and modernisation of its signalling and telecommunications infrastructure. The Iryo train was carrying 146 passengers and a baby, while the AVE train had 397 people on board. Regional government spokesperson Esther Padilla confirmed that an AVE train collided with an Iryo train on the Madrid-Seville line.
The Spanish government has blamed a “possible human error” by a railway operator as the cause of a deadly collision between two high-speed trains in the central province of Toledo. “A human error by an Adif operator in the face of a breakdown of the main signaling system is the possible cause of the accident,” sources from the government led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told Okdiario. That is why the trains came to a stop when the automatic safety system failed, and service resumed under human control — and that is where the error occurred, according to initial analyses by the government sources. Rail operator ADIF has said the work is nearing completion. Padilla has also said it is unclear why one of the trains appeared to be stopped on the track. One of the trains appeared to be stationary when the collision occurred, according to Spanish state broadcaster TVE. Padilla said officials were still trying to establish why one train appeared to have stopped and how the collision unfolded.
This safety system is automated, but when it fails, it switches to manual mode. Investigators will have to establish the sequence of events, including whether the signalling failure and the operator’s actions directly contributed to the collision. The impact sent several carriages down an embankment, prompting emergency services to rush to the scene.
The crash took place on Wednesday morning near Urda, in Toledo province.
