The judge overseeing the Urda crash ordered the crane contractor hired by Adif and Renfe to accelerate the search for biological remains and keep the work going without interruption, including overnight shifts. The order followed a halt in carriage-removal work overnight because the contractor did not have enough personnel. The judge required it to provide enough operators and relief shifts to replace workers without stopping operations. The work resumed on the morning of 1 November as the investigation and evidence-gathering continued. The Guardia Civil maintained a separate search operation at the site.
The collision between an AVE high-speed train and an Iryo train on the Madrid-Seville corridor near Urda, in Toledo province, occurred on 28 October and left 69 people dead. By 2 November, forensic teams had identified 66 victims. Five carriages had been removed from the immediate track area, while wreckage remained nearby. Around 50 Guardia Civil officers were still working in the crash’s “zero zone” to locate biological remains and collect evidence, with specialist canine units supporting the search. The site remained under judicial control. RTVE reported that on 1 November, 41 injured people were still in hospital, including 16 in intensive care.
The judicial order was meant to help investigators search the wreckage and return remains to families as quickly as possible. Recovery teams had begun lifting damaged carriages on 31 October, while forensic specialists searched the wreckage and surrounding ground. The judge’s intervention treated the removal operation as part of both victim recovery and the judicial investigation.
The judicial order came as political activity resumed after three days of official mourning. All parties except Vox had suspended their events following the crash.
President Pedro Sánchez resumed his schedule on Monday with a tribute to the victims and a pledge not to cut public services. The disaster also disrupted a farmers’ march in Madrid: organisers called it off after about 500 tractors reached the capital, as recounted in an account of the rally’s cancellation.
People’s Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo criticised Sánchez’s choice of Puente and Ábalos to lead what he described as the ministry responsible for security.
