A train collision in Spain's Toledo province involving Renfe and Iryo trains on the Madrid-Seville line resulted in at least 46 deaths and 178 injuries, with authorities attributing the disaster to a combination of signaling failures and human error.

A train collision in Spain's Toledo province involving Renfe and Iryo trains on the Madrid-Seville line resulted in at least 46 deaths and 178 injuries, with authorities attributing the disaster to a combination of signaling failures and human error.

A train collision in Spain's Toledo province involving Renfe and Iryo trains on the Madrid-Seville line resulted in at least 46 deaths and 178 injuries, with authorities attributing the disaster to a combination of signaling failures and human error.

Two trains collided on Wednesday morning in Spain’s Toledo province, resulting in dozens of deaths.

At least 46 people are dead, and 178 are injured, according to Spain's Civil Protection.

The collision happened between a Renfe train and an Iryo train on the Madrid-Seville line.

The collision happened between two trains travelling on the same track.

There were 544 passengers between the two trains. The Renfe AVE train carried around 147 passengers and a baby, while the Iryo train had 397 passengers on board and was on the Madrid-Seville route.

The Iryo train was stopped on the tracks when the Renfe train collided with it, according to the source.

The AVE train reportedly rear-ended the Iryo at a speed exceeding 100 kilometres per hour, causing two of its carriages to derail.

At the time of the collision, traffic was being driven with Lateral Signal Blocking (BSL) due to a failure in the LZB system, which is the one that provides full safety guarantees to the track.

The cause of the accident is being attributed to human error. "A human error by an Adif operator in the face of a breakdown of the main signalling system is the possible cause of the accident," sources from the social-communist Executive said on the accident. Adif is Spain's state-owned public company responsible for managing the country's railway infrastructure.

An investigation is analysing the causes of the collision.

José María Goicolea Ruigómez, a member of the Association of Civil Engineers, told Spanish outlet El Correo, "We are speculating, but the only possibility that comes to mind, or that has been mentioned to me but is still unconfirmed, is that the LZB was broken, not working for whatever reason, or was in ASFA mode in manual mode," he stressed.

The LZB Level 2 automated system is meant to "automatically stop the trains" if it detects another train or obstacle. 

Several train cars were destroyed, police sources said,

Iryo confirmed the accident and said that all emergency protocols were activated.

The company issued the following official statement: “This morning, service 6076, which runs between Madrid and Seville, was involved in an accident near Urda, at kilometre marker 118. Iryo has activated all emergency protocols, working closely with the relevant authorities to manage the situation. As a result, all our services originating from Madrid-Puerta de Atocha and destined for the Southern Corridor have been cancelled. At this time, there is no estimated time for the resumption of service. We will continue to provide updates through our usual channels."

The regional government has raised the Territorial Emergency Plan of Castilla-La Mancha (Platecam) to level 2.

A Military Emergency Unit (UME) has been deployed by the Interior Ministry in the region.

This is the second major railway accident in Spain in just 9 months.

TAGS