Spain reckons with 2nd deadly train crash of the year ahead of national election

Emergency services work at the scene of a collision between two trains in Urda, Spain, on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. Manu Fernandez/AP hide caption Manu Fernandez/AP URDA, Spain — Spain's second high-speed rail disaster this year, a crash in which one train struck another from behind, killing 68 people, has raised fresh concerns about the safety of the country's rail network. Spain's network of high-speed rail has been considered one of the nation's crowning achievements. It ranks second to China in track mileage in the world. Until this year, it had not endured a deadly crash since coming into service over three decades ago. The collision Wednesday that turned a sleepy stretch of rail lined by olive groves into a scene of carnage came just four weeks before the country votes in a national election. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the crash site in the central province of Toledo after regional authorities confirmed that more than 60 people had died and dozens more were being treated at hospitals. Only in January, 46 people had died when one train jumped the track and slammed into the side of another going the opposite way in southern Spain. The graphic above shows the p...