The investigation into last week's Urda train crash will remain under Spanish authority, with technical support from the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA). Spain's accident investigators requested the assistance, Efe reported, and the agency will provide technical support. European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas said ERA’s role would be supportive, with the inquiry remaining under the direction of Spanish investigators.
The collision occurred on the morning of 28 October near Urda, in Toledo province, on the Madrid-Seville line. A Renfe train struck the rear of a stationary Iryo train, killing 69 people; two cars of the Iryo train derailed. EFE described the crash as Spain’s deadliest high-speed rail accident. The preliminary speed estimate for the Renfe train at impact was 100 to 125 miles per hour, CBS News reported. Investigators are examining the response after the LZB safety system failed, including decisions made at Adif’s control centre. Those remain lines of inquiry, not final conclusions about the cause.
The inquiry comes as the country prepares to honour the 69 people killed in the crash. Don Felipe and Doña Letizia are due at the funeral in Toledo Cathedral on Thursday 12 November at 19:00. Archbishop Francisco Cerro Chaves will preside. Five bishops from Castilla-La Mancha and Luis Javier Argüello, president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, are also expected. A memorial Mass was held at San Juan Bautista church in Urda on 31 October. Residents and relatives attended, alongside public officials. Forensic authorities have completed all 69 autopsies and identifications; the victims included 54 Spanish nationals and 15 foreign nationals.
The PP has confirmed that Alberto Núñez Feijóo will attend. The party said it hoped Pedro Sánchez and other candidates for prime minister would join the service. It falls only hours before the formal start of the campaign for the 29 November general election. The PP said Feijóo's schedule would need to be rearranged.
Transport is also entering a temporary transition. A day after Óscar Puente resigned as transport minister, Sánchez announced on 4 November that Carlos Cuerpo, first deputy prime minister and economy minister, would take over the department's responsibilities until a new government is formed after the election. The government had announced that the Council of Ministers would approve aid for victims of the Urda accident on 2 November. Sánchez said the government would support victims’ families through mourning and administrative procedures, while helping them search for answers.
The resignation has prompted competing responses. Esquerra Republicana spokesperson Gabriel Rufián called it a distraction from what he described as insecurity and inefficiency on the rail network, particularly on high-speed and commuter services, Europa Press reported. Feijóo, in an interview reported by Europa Press, criticised Puente's appearance in Congress. He said he believed Sánchez had known in advance about the resignation.
Twenty-two people remained in hospital in Castilla-La Mancha on Wednesday, including four in intensive care. Toledo hospital had 13 patients, three of them in intensive care. Six were being treated in Ciudad Real, while Albacete had one inpatient.
