Deadly Train Derailments Spark Strike And Outrage In Spain

Spain is grappling with a wave of grief and anger after a series of devastating train derailments left at least 43 people dead and scores injured, pushing the nation’s largest train drivers’ union to call for a nationwide strike and igniting fierce debate over the safety of its prized high-speed rail network.

The crisis began on Sunday, January 18, 2026, when two high-speed trains collided near the small town of Adamuz in the southern province of Cordoba. According to Reuters and AFP, the crash killed 43 people—including a train driver—and wounded dozens more, making it the deadliest train accident in Spain in over a decade. The collision occurred when a train carrying 289 passengers from Malaga to Madrid derailed and struck an oncoming train traveling from Madrid to Huelva. The impact was so violent that bodies were found hundreds of meters from the crash site, and rescuers spent days prising apart carriages, including one containing the train’s cafeteria, to recover victims.

Just two days later, tragedy struck again. On January 20, a commuter train in Gelida, near Barcelona, derailed after a retaining wall collapsed onto the tracks during heavy rains. The driver was killed and 37 people were injured, four seriously, according to regional officials cited by Reuters. On the same day, a third derailment occurred on Barcelona’s regional network when a rock fell onto the line amid the storm; this time, no injuries were reported, but the incident underscored growing fears about the safety of Spain’s rail infrastructure.

In the aftermath, the train operators’ union SEMAF issued a blistering statement, calling for a three-day nationwide strike from February 9-11 to demand urgent safety guarantees and criminal liability for those responsible for maintaining the railway infrastructure. “This situation of constant deterioration of the railway is unacceptable,” the union declared, as reported by AFP. SEMAF also revealed that it had warned the infrastructure operator, ADIF, in August 2025 about severe wear and tear on the very tracks where Sunday’s crash occurred—citing potholes, bumps, and imbalances in overhead power lines that were causing frequent breakdowns and damaging trains.

“The serious accidents in Adamuz and Gelida, both with fatalities, are a turning point in demanding all necessary actions to guarantee the safety of railway operations,” SEMAF said in a statement quoted by Reuters. The union’s call for criminal accountability has resonated with many Spaniards, especially after news emerged that, despite prior warnings, no comprehensive action had been taken to address the deteriorating conditions.

Transport Minister Oscar Puente, facing mounting pressure, promised to negotiate with the union to avert the strike. “We do not share (the view) that a general strike is the best approach,” Puente told reporters, according to Reuters. He acknowledged the emotional toll on train drivers, particularly after the deaths of two colleagues, but insisted that the government was committed to addressing safety concerns. Puente also ruled out human error as the cause of the Adamuz disaster, saying, “the technical cause has not been yet determined and appeared to be very complex.”

Investigators searching for answers discovered a large piece of machinery near the Adamuz crash site, believed to be a missing chunk of the derailed train’s undercarriage. According to Puente, it seemed logical that the piece flew out into a stream after the collision, but the investigation remains ongoing. Small marks found on the front bogies of the derailed train and earlier trains have raised questions about possible infrastructure defects, though Puente cautioned it was too early to draw definitive conclusions.

One particularly harrowing detail emerged from recordings of the phone calls between the Iryo train driver and the control center in Madrid. As Puente explained, the driver and passengers in the front five carriages did not initially realize a collision had occurred. It was only after the driver climbed down to inspect the train and saw the devastation at the rear that he made a second call to request ambulances. The time between the derailment and the collision was just nine seconds—leaving no time to brake or avoid disaster.

As the nation mourned, with three days of official remembrance declared, authorities scrambled to restore confidence in the rail system. Services across Catalonia’s main commuter rail network were suspended for comprehensive safety checks and will not resume until the lines are deemed safe. ADIF, the state rail infrastructure operator, imposed temporary speed limits of 160 km/h (100 mph) on parts of the Madrid-Barcelona high-speed line and capped speeds on a 1.8-kilometer stretch between Madrid and Valencia after drivers reported bumps and poor track conditions over a 78-kilometer stretch. Maintenance teams worked overnight to inspect and repair several points identified as needing urgent attention.

The accidents have also triggered a political firestorm. Spain’s conservative main opposition Popular Party demanded an “immediate clarification” on the state of the nation’s railways. “This is too much,” party leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo wrote on X (formerly Twitter), echoing the frustrations of commuters and families of victims. Meanwhile, commuters like Raluca Maria Pasca, a 45-year-old waitress from Cordoba, voiced everyday concerns: “I’ve felt it myself. They need to fix the problem,” she told AFP, describing how high-speed trains had been shaking recently.

While the government is working toward resuming the Madrid-Andalucia rail link by February 2, uncertainty lingers. Regional trains across Catalonia remain suspended for inspections following recent storms, and the memory of the Adamuz and Gelida tragedies is still raw. The union’s August 2025 letter to ADIF now stands as a chilling reminder of missed warnings and the high cost of inaction.

As Spain’s railways remain under intense scrutiny, the coming weeks will test the government’s ability to restore public trust and deliver on promises of safety. The strike threat looms, and with it, the demand for accountability and concrete reform in one of Europe’s most celebrated rail networks. For now, the tracks remain quiet, the mourning continues, and the nation waits for answers—and action.