AVE Train Hits Stationary Iryo Train Near Madrid, Two Cars Derail

A high-speed AVE train collided with a stationary Iryo train between Mora and Urda on the Madrid-Sevilla line, derailing two carriages. The accident occurred at kilometer 118, about 25 kilometers from Atocha station.

Audio recordings analyzed by El País reveal that the Iryo driver informed the control center that his train could not move due to technical defects. Despite this, the traffic controller ordered the AVE train behind it to resume normal speed without verifying whether the train ahead had moved.

Protocol required the resumption to be visual and limited to 40 kilometers per hour to avoid any collision risk. Instead, the controller told the AVE driver to continue under BSL protection at normal speed.

Seven minutes later, the Iryo driver called again to repeat that his train could not move. The controller did not inform the AVE driver about the problem ahead, and the AVE train continued at normal speed.

Government sources cited by El Confidencial suggest a possible human error following a safety system malfunction, while railway employees report a technical incident that required speed restrictions. No one has been identified as responsible for the possible human error.

The investigation must now determine whether an error occurred in railway traffic management after the presumed breakdown. Key questions include the instructions given to locomotive drivers, permissions from the control center, and whether necessary safety conditions were respected.