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High-speed train crash in central Spain kills 69, nine months after another deadly crash

51 articles from 12 sources
First reported on Wednesday 28 October 2026 at 05:31 EDT by CBS News·Latest article on Monday 2 November 2026 at 10:22 EST

Summary

A high-speed train slammed into another train stopped on the tracks in central Spain on Wednesday 28 October, killing at least 68 people, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the LA Times reported, a toll ABC News and Fortune later put at 69, the regional government for Castilla La Mancha saying another 58 people needed hospital treatment, according to the LA Times, and The NY Times calling the accident, the second in less than a year on the same busy rail line, one of the deadliest in the country's history, while the Inquirer and ABC News listed Spain's four deadly train crashes this year. Spain's transport minister said an error by the central control center, not the conductors, caused the collision, the Inquirer reported, The NY Times quoting the minister on an 'inexplicable' decision by traffic control operators, and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez vowed action if 'negligence' led to the accident, according to NBC News. On 30 October the transport minister said a judge would investigate the controllers' actions, The NY Times reported, Fortune writing that Spain's rail safety system went down before the crash and that the minister calls 170 outages this year 'normal'. The NY Times wrote on 31 October that the second major rail accident this year has put the competence of Sánchez's government on trial, Sánchez being already an election underdog, and on 2 November authorities said four Americans and one Canadian were among the 69 dead, the Inquirer and ABC News reported.

Latest: Authorities say four Americans and one Canadian were among the 69 people killed in last week's high-speed train collision, The Philadelphia Inquirer and ABC News reported, and CBS News headlined that four Americans were among dozens killed, officials say, writing that the crash occurred on the morning of 28 October in Urda, when the high-speed train slammed into the rear of another train that had stopped.

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How it unfolded

  1. Monday 2 November

    Authorities say four Americans and one Canadian were among the 69 people killed in last week's high-speed train collision, The Philadelphia Inquirer and ABC News reported, and CBS News headlined that four Americans were among dozens killed, officials say, writing that the crash occurred on the morning of 28 October in Urda, when the high-speed train slammed into the rear of another train that had stopped.

  2. Sunday 1 November

  3. Saturday 31 October

    The NY Times wrote that the second major rail accident this year has put the competence of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's government on trial, Sánchez being already an election underdog, and The Philadelphia Inquirer reported from on board a Spanish high-speed train that two deadly collisions in nine months have shaken confidence in the system.

  4. Friday 30 October

    The transport minister said a judge would investigate the traffic controllers' actions, including authorizing a train to proceed at high speed though another was stalled in front of it, The NY Times reported, Fortune writing that Spain's rail safety system went down before the crash that killed 69 and that the minister calls 170 outages this year 'normal', while The Philadelphia Inquirer and ABC News wrote that the crash puts human error and systemic failure under scrutiny.

  5. Thursday 29 October

    Spain reckons with its second deadly high-speed train crash this year ahead of a national election, ABC News putting the toll at 69, and families searched for missing loved ones, The Philadelphia Inquirer and ABC News reported, as protests erupted in Madrid while Spain began mourning, according to NBC News, and The NY Times wrote that crash investigators focus on the role of train traffic controllers.

  6. Wednesday 28 October

    A high-speed train slammed into another train stopped on the tracks in central Spain, killing at least 68 people, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the LA Times, PBS NewsHour and The NY Times reported, the transport minister blaming an error by the central control center, not the conductors, according to the Inquirer, and Bloomberg wrote that the crash rocks Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's tough reelection bid.

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