The reported death toll in the Adamuz and Urda crashes was 115: 46 at Adamuz and 69 at Urda. The Urda crash occurred near Urda, Toledo, on 28 October 2026. Two local courts and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) are conducting parallel investigations, with prosecutors examining whether EU funds for railway works were misused. The EPPO’s financial inquiries are separate from Spanish judicial proceedings examining the causes of the crashes and possible criminal liability.
The EPPO opened an inquiry into the Adamuz works in March after almost two months of preliminary checks. It later opened a separate case over Urda, appointing the Guardia Civil’s Unidad Central Operativa (UCO) to investigate. On 6 November 2026, the EPPO announced investigative measures at Adif, Spain’s State Railway Safety Agency and the Spanish Court of Auditors. The UCO operation involved those three public bodies. The Urda inquiry concerns possible fraud affecting EU funds allocated to renovating and upgrading safety, signalling and communications systems on the Madrid-Seville high-speed railway line. The EPPO did not announce what documents or assets were sought. Both EPPO inquiries remained active, with no public findings, identified suspects or quantified loss to the EU budget.
Legal sources cited in the account said the prosecutors’ remit is limited to possible fraud involving EU money. The first EPPO case examines EU-funded maintenance of track near Adamuz; the later Urda inquiry concerns funds for safety, signalling and communications upgrades. A €49 million contract approved by the government in March 2020 covered replacement of 63 points across Madrid, Toledo, Ciudad Real, Córdoba and Seville, including the one at Urda. The work went to a joint venture formed by Ferrovial, Azvi, Contratas y Ventas and Agrupación Guinovart Obras y Servicios Hispania, each with a 25% share. Part of the project was to be financed by the European Regional Development Fund.
Two other awards are also under scrutiny. One was a €94 million contract to replace the LZB safety system with ERTM. Adif awarded it to Thales España GRP, and it was transferred to Hitachi Rail in July 2024. The other went to the same company for €21.5 million to renew track circuits on the Madrid-Seville line and the La Sagra-Toledo branch. In June 2024, the European Commission approved more than €110 million from the European Regional Development Fund for modernisation of the Madrid-Seville railway. The programme covered approximately 435.2 kilometres of the route, whose total length is about 471 kilometres. Reported works included rail replacement, bridge and tunnel improvements, and drainage upgrades. Investigators are examining how the money was used.
The Adamuz court case began on the night of Sunday 18 January, when the duty court in Montoro, Córdoba, received the call to begin recovering victims. Investigators examined the LZB system and records including train-control data, security-camera footage from a nearby halt and emergency calls from the Iryo driver and the Alvia train attendant.
By late March, the Guardia Civil had identified a broken rail as a likely cause of the collision. Investigators said the break had occurred the day before the crash. They also said the track-circuit system was not designed to detect a voltage drop of that kind unless it was very sharp. Court-appointed experts were still examining the causes. The Iryo train remained sealed in Córdoba pending the selection of a workshop capable of inspecting its bogies.
Adif later reported at least three deformations at the Adamuz crash site and sought permission to carry out maintenance. Court staff questioned the need for repairs because the section had already been fixed after the crash and the work remained under warranty.
At Urda, Judge Arisea Ortiz leads the case at Orgaz Court of Instruction and First Instance No. 2. She barred the removal of any track component without judicial authorisation and prohibited the distribution of photographs of victims. The investigation was placed under judicial secrecy. No further public action has been reported.
