How could the serious train accident happen?

Search for cause in Spain How could the serious train accident happen? As of: October 29, 2026 • 6:34 a.m

After the serious train accident in Spain, there are initial findings about the cause of the accident: human error apparently played a role. There were protests and riots in front of the Ministry of Transport in Madrid in the evening.

Spain's high-speed rail network is considered one of the most modern in the world. Nevertheless, a serious rail accident has occurred for the second time within a year. At least 68 people died on Wednesday morning when a train hit another stationary one - apparently at high speed. Spanish media reports more than 100 kilometers per hour.

While the more than 100 injured people are being cared for, the search for the causes has begun. It is clear that the tragedy began with a technical defect.

According to initial findings, the automatic security system had failed in the Castile-La Mancha region. The computer-controlled system regulates which trains on the Madrid-Seville route stop or slow down when the distance between two trains becomes too small.

According to initial investigations, human error probably led to the accident. more

The automatic system failed at 8:30 a.m., according to Transport Minister Óscar Puente. As a result, all trains on the 63 kilometer long section came to a standstill. The employees in the control center in Madrid then took control.

According to the Spanish newspaper El Pais, after just six minutes the control center in Madrid gave written and telephone instructions to the train drivers to continue driving - at a "normal" speed. The regulations actually stipulate “starting on sight” at 40 kilometers per hour. At this speed there is a chance that a train can brake in time.

Two trains were on the same track just 25 kilometers apart. The high-speed train operated by the state-owned company Renfe with 397 passengers on board and a train operated by the operator Iryo with 147 passengers. The latter was apparently unable to start due to technical problems, report the newspapers El Mundo and El Pais.

Serious train accident on the route between Madrid and Andalusia tagesschau, Das Erste, October 28, 2026 • 8:00 p.m. Transport Minister speaks of human error The Iryo train crew informed the control center by telephone about the technical problems. It was also clear on the screens in the control center in Madrid that the Renfe and Iryo trains were on the same track, reports El Pais. Nevertheless, 17 minutes later, the Renfe train ran into the Iryo train at high speed.

Transport Minister Puente speaks of human error. The minister explained that the signal had been set to red. Nevertheless, an employee of the rail network operator Adif in the control center gave permission for the train to continue while the Iryo train was still standing, said Puente. That was “inexplicable” and a “wrong decision.”

Sebastian Kisters, ARD Madrid, currently with Urda, on the train accident in Spain tagesschau24, October 28th, 2026 • 3:00 p.m. Train drivers' union: circumstances "very strange" Much is still unclear. The train drivers' union described the circumstances to the newspaper El Mundo as "very strange".

Apparently no one in the control center told the driver of the Renfe train to stop. The responsible employee is now represented by a lawyer. It is now being investigated why neither his superior nor his colleague pointed out the impending disaster.

Spain remembered the victims of the Adamuz accident at a funeral mass. The cause is still unclear. more

The accident brings back memories of the serious train accident near Adamuz in Andalusia in January this year. At that time, an Iryo high-speed train derailed and collided with an oncoming Renfe train. 46 people were killed in the accident and more than 150 were injured.

A broken rail is suspected to be the cause of the accident, which occurred on the open road at the time.

After the second serious train accident in a year, protests and riots broke out in front of the Ministry of Transport in Madrid in the evening. Ultra-right groups had called for a protest. Some of the approximately 1,500 demonstrators and the police also clashed, as the television station TVE reported. Officers eventually used tear gas to break up the demonstration.

The protest was directed against the government of Social Democratic Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Transport Minister Puente, who the rally participants see as responsible for the train accident in the province of Toledo.

This topic in the program: The First | daily news | Oct 28, 2026 | 8:00 p.m