Urda train collision kills at least 69 as unions demand minister Óscar Puente's exit

Crash and official response

Two high-speed trains, an AVE and an Iryo service on the Madrid-Sevilla line, collided near Urda in Toledo province on Wednesday, 28 October 2026. Official figures cited by unions put the death toll at at least 69, with more than 100 people injured. The crash is the second fatal accident on this corridor this year, after the Adamuz (Córdoba) crash in January that killed 46 people, a combined toll of 115 according to ABC.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the H24 control centre of Adif at Madrid Puerta de Atocha on 29 October, arriving around 12:00 and leaving at 14:30 with Transport Minister Óscar Puente at his side. Earlier he took part in a coordination meeting at the 112 centre in Toledo. Sánchez described the repeat of an accident of this scale within one year as 'inasumible' (unacceptable), while Puente called what happened in Toledo 'inexplicable'. Asked about a possible resignation, Puente said his priority was clarifying what happened rather than his own future.

Control centre worker and leaked recordings

Puente publicly pointed to a worker at the Atocha control centre as a possible source of human error. Unions say the blame was assigned before the investigation had properly begun. Recordings of conversations between Atocha control staff and the drivers of the crashed trains were also leaked. CSIF offered its legal services to Adif staff and said it would not allow a person to be criminalised when the technology failed.

Enough is enough. CSIF demands the resignation of Óscar Puente.

CSIF spokesman Pedro Poves called the circulation of the recordings an 'infamia' (infamy) for any type of worker. He said the union had already denounced excess shifts and staffing shortages at Adif in September.

Unions demand accountability

CCOO's railway sector asked in a statement for the 'immediate' dismissal of Puente, accusing him of blaming workers before all the circumstances were known. It also demanded an investigation into the origin of the recordings. UGT accused the minister of trying to avoid responsibility. SFF-CGT rejected his remarks and urged the inquiry to examine generational renewal, practical training, available resources and the mental load of continuous shifts at the control centre. The union recalled a May proposal to amend Royal Decree 929/2020 to set limits on continuous traffic-control shifts.

Political pressure before the general elections

PNV parliamentary spokesperson Maribel Vaquero, speaking in Bilbao, asked Sánchez to take 'maximum political responsibilities' once the causes are established. She said the possible measures could include the resignation or dismissal of the minister, although she did not name him expressly. Asked whether Puente should resign, she said that was for Sánchez to decide.

It is unacceptable, and very worrying that accidents of this scale occur in such a short time.

Vaquero also said that accidents of this gravity are conditioning the pre-campaign for the general elections. According to ABC, some Socialist leaders are questioning Puente's continuity less than a month before the vote, while people close to the government acknowledge the tragedy has left him 'muy tocado' (badly shaken). Journalist Antonio Ferreras, on Al Rojo Vivo, asked how the line's safety systems could not counter a possible human error, noting it is Spain's oldest high-speed line and its busiest corridor.