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Factbox-Spain's deadliest train disasters
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 19, 2026
3 min readLast updated: January 19, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 19, 2026
3 min readLast updated: January 19, 2026
Explore Spain's deadliest train disasters, including the recent Cordoba crash and historical incidents like Santiago de Compostela and Madrid bombings.
Jan 19 (Reuters) - At least 39 people died in southern Spain after a high-speed train derailed and collided with an oncoming one on Sunday night near Adamuz, in the province of Cordoba, in the worst railway accident in the country since 2013.
The collision left 122 people injured, with 48 still in hospital and 12 in intensive care, according to emergency services.
Here are some of Spain's deadliest train disasters, starting from most recent:
SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA (2013)
A railway accident in the summer of 2013 left 80 people dead and 145 injured when an eight-carriage high-speed train veered off the track on a sharp bend near the northwestern city of Santiago de Compostela, slamming into a concrete wall and bursting into flames.
A Transport Ministry commission concluded that the accident was caused by speeding and the driver being distracted by a call from a superior, but a victims association blamed the accident not only on human error but also on the railway's security systems.
MADRID COMMUTER TRAIN BOMBINGS (2004)
On March 11, 2004, ten backpack bombs detonated on four Cercanias commuter trains, killing 193 and injuring thousands during Madrid's rush hour. The attacks were carried out by Islamist extremists opposing Spain's participation in the Iraq war.
EL CUERVO (1972)
An accident caused by a head-on collision between two trains in the Cadiz-Seville route left 86 people dead and more than 150 injured near the southern town of El Cuervo in 1972. The accident was caused by a driver's failure to stop at a red light at El Cuervo station, according to an investigation by state-owned rail operator Renfe.
URDULIZ (1970)
A head-on collision of two trains killed 33 in the town of Urduliz, near the northern city of Bilbao, in the summer of 1970. A stationmaster was initially blamed for the accident, but it later emerged that he had been working 16-hour shifts for the previous four days.
GRISEN (1965)
A train on the Madrid-Barcelona route caught fire in 1965 in the town of Grisen, near northeastern Zaragoza, killing dozens of passengers. Though the train operator said at the time that 30 people died, later reports have claimed the real death toll was up to 80 and the Francoist regime tried to downplay it.
TORRE DEL BIERZO RAIL DISASTER (1944)
The 1944 crash of three trains in the El Bierzo region of Spain's León province is considered one of the deadliest railway disasters in Spain, with the estimated death toll of 78 still being debated due to censorship under the regime of late dictator Francisco Franco.
A train travelling from Madrid to A Coruña suffered a brake failure and collided with a locomotive inside a tunnel, just before a third train entered the same gallery and crashed into the wreckage.
(Compiled by Mirko Miorelli and Javi West Larrañaga in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
A train derailment occurs when a train goes off its tracks, often resulting in accidents that can cause injuries and fatalities.
A high-speed train is a type of passenger train that operates significantly faster than traditional trains, often exceeding speeds of 155 mph (250 km/h).
A railway accident refers to any incident involving a train that results in damage, injury, or loss of life, including derailments, collisions, and fires.
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