Castilla-La Mancha emergency services reported 69 deaths from a train collision near Urda as of Oct. 29, while the Associated Press and The Guardian described rail safety emerging as a larger issue ahead of Spain’s Nov. 29 election.
The collision occurred Oct. 28 in Toledo province. Renfe, Spain’s national rail operator, said its Madrid-to-Seville AVE service collided with an Iryo train between Los Yébenes and Urda. The Oct. 29 regional update gave the toll as 69; the Associated Press reported that authorities had not ruled out the number rising.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the independent railway accident commission, judicial authorities and Spain’s Transport Ministry were investigating. No cause had been established. The government declared three days of official mourning, from Oct. 29 through Oct. 31. EconoTimes previously covered the investigation into rail-safety procedures.
Political coverage by the Associated Press and The Guardian says rail oversight is now competing for attention with housing, an issue Sánchez had hoped to make central to his campaign. The Associated Press also reported that Popular Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo called for a full investigation.
The collision follows a January crash at Adamuz that killed 46 people, according to government figures. The Associated Press reported both fatal high-speed rail crashes this year occurred on the Madrid-Seville line. It also reported that rail workers had planned an Oct. 29 strike to press for safety improvements after the January crash; the action was planned before the collision near Urda.
Alejandro Quiroga, a political science professor at Madrid’s Complutense University, told the Associated Press that it was too soon to assess the crash’s effect on voters. Spain’s official election decree sets the campaign period for Nov. 13-27 and the vote for Nov. 29.
