Tragic chapter on the trains sends rail superpower Spain into crisis
“Since the high-speed line was built, around 30 years ago, we have never had any problems, it worked perfectly and was fantastic,” says Alberto Montavez Montes, a shopkeeper opposite Cordoba town hall, where the Spanish and Andalusian flags are at half-mast.
Now, even if things seem different: “It’s not that there’s psychosis, but it just makes you a little reluctant to get on a train, no doubt.”
Just days after the tragic collision of two high-speed trains in this region of southern Spain, which claimed the lives of 45 people, there was a sense that Spain’s vaunted rail system was being plunged into a sudden and profound crisis.
Spaniards observed three days of mourning this week as they reflect on the Adamuz disaster [EPA/Shutterstock]
After China in terms of size, Spain has 3,900 km (2,400 miles) of high-speed rail (AVE) lines and until now its national network has been admired for its efficiency and safety.
In 2009, then-US President Barack Obama praised Spain when he laid out his vision for creating a high-speed rail network across America. The line linking Madrid to Seville “is so successful that more people travel between these cities by train than by car and plane combined”, he said.
At the time, a Spanish-led consortium had just begun work on a high-speed link across the Saudi Arabian desert, confirming the country’s status as a rail superpower.
That reputation was shamed this week.
Last Sunday, the rear three carriages of a train operated by Italian private operator Iryo derailed at high speed, along a straight section of track, into the path of an oncoming train, operated by national rail operator Renfe, which bore the brunt of the accident.
Two days later, a trainee driver was killed when a wall collapsed on a commuter railway near Barcelona in the northeast after heavy rain, derailing a train.
The same day, another local train in Catalonia hit a rock, but no one was injured.
And on Thursday, several passengers on a narrow-gauge train were slightly injured when a crane hit a carriage.
Train drivers in Catalonia have refused to work following the accident near Barcelona, demanding safety guarantees and contributing to two days without local train services in the region.
Separately, train drivers’ union Semaf called for a three-day national strike in February against what it described as “the constant deterioration of the rail network.”
Trainee driver killed when wall crashed into his taxi in Catalonia in heavy rain [NurPhoto via Getty Images]
In addition, several high-speed lines have had their speed limits temporarily reduced, for safety reasons.
Throughout the week, delays, stoppages and other incidents affecting the rail system in recent months were discussed in the media, while members of the public aired grievances on social media about uncomfortable or alarming travel experiences.
“I think the trains are not as safe as they used to be,” says Olga Márquez, another Córdoba resident. Her husband regularly travels to Madrid for work, on the same line where the high-speed collision took place, and she says he often mentioned vibrations and noises during the journey that suggested to him the track was not in optimal condition.
“I’m happy to get on a train, but when it comes to my husband, it all makes me think twice,” she says.
The long delay between the high-speed crash and the realization by rail and emergency services that two trains – rather than just one – were involved created doubts about the emergency response to such tragedies.
The government, the Civil Guard and an independent commission all continue to investigate the Andalusia crash, although sabotage and human error appear to have been ruled out.
Meanwhile, politicians, commentators and ordinary Spaniards debate the possible cause and point out the weaknesses of the Spanish rail system as a whole.
The amount of investment in the rail network is the subject of particular attention. The Socialist government has sought to brush aside these questions, pointing out for example that €700 million (£605 million) has been invested in upgrading the Madrid-Andalusia line in recent years, with the section of track where the accident took place being included in this renovation.
“We are not facing a problem of lack of maintenance, we are not facing a problem of obsolescence [infrastructure]and we are not facing a problem of lack of investment,” said Transport Minister Óscar Puente.
Investigators believe the track was already fractured before the Iryo train crossed it [Guardia Civil]
A preliminary report by the Railway Accident Investigation Commission, CIAF, has revealed that grooves found on the wheels of the derailed Iryo train and three previous trains suggest that a track fracture occurred before the Iryo train passed over it.
Urging caution, Puente said he suspected “a problem we’ve never seen on our network before.”
Grooves were found on the wheels of the Iryo train which had already crossed the track before the derailment [CIAF Spain]
Figures released by his ministry show a sharp increase in spending on maintenance of the rail system since Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez took office in 2018. However, other data tells a different story: Spain was in last place in an index published by German rail association Allianz pro Schiene of per capita spending on rail infrastructure by 14 European countries in 2024.
Salvador García-Ayllón, director of the civil engineering department at the Polytechnic University of Cartagena, called the high-speed network “the jewel of Spanish infrastructure.”
However, the liberalization of the rail sector in 2020, allowing Ouigo in France and Iryo in Italy to provide high-speed services, may have increased competitiveness and reduced ticket prices, but it also put more pressure on the system.
Around 22 million travelers currently use Spain’s high-speed trains each year, around double the number before liberalization, and 17 times the number of users in 1992, the year the Madrid-Seville line was inaugurated.
Salvador García-Ayllón also points to new lines built in recent years – notably the northwestern region of Galicia and the northern city of Burgos, with a new route along the Mediterranean under construction – whose maintenance represents a challenge. All this, he said, left Spanish rail “bursting at the seams”.
“The challenge is not only to buy a Ferrari, you also have to take the Ferrari to the garage,” he said. “You have to invest in maintaining the infrastructure that you have.”
The reliability of the high-speed rail system has declined significantly in recent years. In July 2025, its trains were on average 19 minutes late, according to data provided by Renfe. Local rail has also seen an increase in incidents, such as delays, cancellations and technical problems, which have more than tripled since 2019 on Madrid’s local Cercanías network.
Catalonia, which suffered Tuesday’s double crash, suffers from long-standing and well-documented deficiencies in its Rodalies commuter network, which have fueled its political tensions with Madrid over the past decade.
Perhaps inevitably, recent tragedies have already spilled over into the deeply divided political arena.
The far-right Vox party said that “traveling to Spain [by train] is no longer safe”, a claim that comes as part of his repeated insistence that the country is akin to a failed state. The main opposition party, the People’s Party (PP), has meanwhile accused the government of hiding information about the high-speed crash.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez admitted that the accident in southern Spain had caused “irreparable” damage. But he also insisted that the high-speed network “is a source of pride for the country”. Not so long ago, few Spaniards would have disputed this assertion. Today, many people will find it difficult to agree.
