All carriages from the Iryo and AVE trains involved in last Wednesday’s crash in Urda, Toledo, have been removed from the high-speed line. The final two Iryo carriages were taken away on Monday, after the AVE carriages had been moved overnight to a secure area. The Civil Guard continues to search the site for biological remains, with around 50 officers deployed.
The accident killed 69 people, and authorities have identified 66 of the victims. Mexico’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that one of the dead was a Mexican national and said it was providing consular assistance to the family with the repatriation of the remains. Civil Guard officers at the site also paid tribute to the victims by laying flowers and observing a minute’s silence.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the government’s “main obligation” was to restore citizens’ “broken confidence” in high-speed rail. He announced that the cabinet would approve an aid package on Tuesday, including a doubling of compulsory passenger insurance payments, an advance mechanism for compensation, specific temporary-disability measures and personalised support offices for affected families.
The accident has prompted criticism from opposition parties. People’s Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo accused the government of reducing responsibility for the railway system to a single worker and demanded that Sánchez appear before Congress’s Permanent Deputation. Transport Minister Óscar Puente is due to appear there on Tuesday and will also present an investigation report to the cabinet beforehand.
Podemos candidate Irene Montero said there was a “social consensus” that Puente should resign. She also called for greater public control of the railway system, arguing that liberalisation had put commercial interests ahead of passenger safety.
Infrastructure manager Adif denied rejecting safety recommendations issued after a 2024 incident in which an AVE train passed a stop signal at Cuenca-Fernando Zóbel. The company said it had assessed the recommendations and explained which measures could be accepted, studied or were unnecessary because they were already in operation or could have adverse effects. The railway safety commission had warned that, when automation or signalling fails, reliance on human authorisation can create a vulnerability.
Twenty-nine injured people remain in hospitals in Castilla-La Mancha: 20 in conventional wards and nine in intensive care. The regional authorities said that 81 of the 110 initial admissions had resulted in discharges, while nine patients had been transferred to Madrid and one to Andalusia.
The debate has also extended to future infrastructure works. Catalan President Salvador Illa said he supported renewing the high-speed connection between Barcelona and Madrid while affecting services as little as possible, with safety remaining the priority. Renfe has provided the information line 900 10 10 20, while Iryo’s assistance number is 900 001 403.
Sources: El País Portada.