Train derailment near Córdoba, Spain

[Angmering1974]

The TV news is reporting 5 dead, and people trapped.

Descarrilan dos trenes en Andalucía a su paso por Adamuz, en Córdoba, y dejan al menos 40 muertos y un centenar de heridos

El Iryo de Alta Velocidad se salió del carril e impactó con el Alvia de la vía contigua, provocando el accidente y que sus dos primeros vagones cayeron por un terraplén de cuatro metros

www.abc.es

Two trains have derailed this Sunday afternoon in Andalusia. The Iryo 6189 Long Distance train that covers the route between Malaga and Puerta de Atocha, in Madrid, has derailed at the entrance detours of track 1 of Adamuz, in the province of Cordoba. This has caused the departure of the railway that was running on the adjoining one, the LD AV 2384 Pta. train from Atocha - Huelva, which has also derailed." (Google Translated)

 

[Steddenm]

RTÉ News are now reporting:

At least 10 people have been killed and several injured after two trains collided in southern Spain, the emergency services said.

A train travelling from Malaga to Madrid derailed near Adamuz, crossing onto the other track where it hit an oncoming train, which also derailed, Spain's ADIF rail body posted on X.

RTE news : At least seven dead after trains derail in Spain

At least ten people dead after trains derail in Spain

At least 10 people have been killed and several injured after two trains collided in southern Spain, the emergency services said.

www.rte.ie

 

[lfc84]

Very sadly, Rtve report at least 10 dead.

At least ten people have died and around one hundred have been injured, 25 of them seriously, due to the derailment this Sunday of two high-speed trains in the Cordoba town of Adamuz, according to sources from the Civil Guard.

The accident occurred at approximately 7:40 p.m., when an Iryo train traveling from Málaga to Madrid, with 317 people on board, derailed in its last three cars at the sidings entering Adamuz and crossed onto the adjacent track, where another Renfe train, which had departed from Madrid and was heading to Huelva, was also derailed.

Al menos 40 muertos y más de cien heridos al descarrilar dos trenes de alta velocidad en la localidad cordobesa de Adamuz

Al menos 40 muertos y más de cien heridos al descarrilar dos trenes de alta velocidad en la localidad cordobesa de Adamuz

www.rtve.es

 

[Paul AC]

Some strange timing details in that RTE quote.

Taking data from other reports, and looking at the schedules:

The iryo train was 6189, 18:40 from Málaga to Madrid Atocha, and the derailment was at Adamuz north of Córdoba; departure from Córdoba was scheduled at 19:29. Track diagrams show Adamuz as a pair of single crossovers, some distance apart, between the two running lines. Openrailwaymap shows the line speed in the area as 250 km/h.

The Madrid - Huelva train was RENFE Alvia 2384, 17:05 Madrid Atocha to Huelva, which was due to call at Córdoba at 18:54 (and then bypass Sevilla to run direct towards Huelva). That train must have been running rather late at the time, but that's not relevant. Looks like the Huelva train has been much more badly damaged than the iryo.

I think only the second fatal accident on high speed lines in Spain in more than 30 years of operation, after the much worse one in 2013 at Santiago de Compostela.

 

[Horizon22]

Very sadly, Rtve report at least 10 dead

Al menos 40 muertos y más de cien heridos al descarrilar dos trenes de alta velocidad en la localidad cordobesa de Adamuz

Al menos 40 muertos y más de cien heridos al descarrilar dos trenes de alta velocidad en la localidad cordobesa de Adamuz

www.rtve.es

BBC currently has it at five, but sadly no doubt figures will change over the night.

High-speed train crash in Spain kills at least 39

More than 400 passengers were on board the trains that derailed near the city of Córdoba, in Spain's worst rail crash in more than a decade.

www.bbc.co.uk

At least five people have been killed and dozens more injured after two high-speed trains derailed following a collision in southern Spain on Sunday evening.

The accident happened near the town of Adamuz, close to the city of Cordoba, when a high-speed train travelling from Malaga to Madrid derailed and crashed onto a neighbouring track, rail network operator Adif said.

A second train travelling in the opposite direction, from Madrid to Huelva, also derailed.

Andalusian emergency services said at least 25 people were seriously injured, with others suffering minor injuries.

 

[Angmering1974]

One of the train drivers died according to RTVE:

Uno de los fallecidos es el maquinista del tren de Renfe, según fuentes del Ministerio de Transportes.

All very sad news

 

[azOOOOOma]

At least 21 dead. Horrendous news. I can’t quite tell if two or more carriages have either fallen from height or slammed into a rock face. It’s difficult to understand the scene. I’m sure it’ll become tragically clear once the sun rises.

 

[Jamesrob637]

One of the train drivers died according to RTVE:



All very sad news

Guessing the Alvia ploughed into the Iryo? Very sad news nevertheless.

 

[yorkie]

At least 21 dead...

Sadly, I suspect the death toll could increase further, maybe even significantly, based on what I am seeing of the Alvia train (see photo below)

This image from Twitter shows the location:

Spain's Minister of Transport (is, as I understand it, at the traffic control center?) posted a photo of the view from the traffic control system showing the situation at the Adamuz junction.

6189 is Iryo, 2384 is AVE. To Madrid left

Guessing the Alvia ploughed into the Iryo?

It seems the Iryo was initially derailed, and then the Alvia plouged into it. The Allvia has come off far worse than the Iryo.

A passenger has described their experience on the Iryo on Twitter:

https://x.com/eleanorinthesky/status/2012961856520917401/photo/1

We're on the Iryo from Córdoba to Madrid, and about 10 minutes after the train departed, it started shaking a lot, and it derailed from car 6 backwards. The power went out. We're in car 5. Luckily, it seems like everyone is okay.

From car 6 to the back, they've moved them to the front cars, which aren't damaged. They're going to let us off in an orderly manner. From the window you can see a stop, we think it's Adamuz.

Those coming from behind are saying that there is a fatality. And that the last carriage is thrown off and completely wrecked.

Several of the Alvia cars look wrecked; this image has been widely circulated:

https://x.com/The_Libertax/status/2013021810669895823

Images of the derailed Alvia train in Adamuz. Until now, there were no images of the train, only those of the Iryo had been seen. Horrible, at least 21 dead at this moment, dozens and dozens of injured, with at least 25 in serious condition.

In case anyone is wondering, details on the train types can be found here:

A guide to Renfe's Alvia trains

An illustrated guide to Spanish Alvia trains, with classes, cafe-bar, catering and travel tips.

www.seat61.com

Alvia is Renfe's brand name for their second-rank high-speed trains after AVE. Alvia trains come in several types:

• S130 trains are used on Alvia services from Madrid to Cadiz, Huelva, Gijon & Santander.
• S730 trains are used on Alvia services from Madrid to Ourense, Vigo, Santiago de Compostela & A Coruña.
• S120 trains are used on Alvia services from Madrid & Barcelona to Bilbao, Pamplona & San Sebastian

Edit: this train type is S120, Alvia is a brand name for second-rank high speed trains after AVE.

A guide to Iryo trains in Spain

A practical guide to travelling on high-speed Iryo train in Spain

www.seat61.com

Who are Iryo?

Iryo is a Spanish high-speed train operator, competing with state-owned Renfe on key routes. Launched on 25 November 2022, Iryo is run by a consortium of Trenitalia & Air Nostrum called Ilsa using a version of Trenitalia's Frecciarossa 1000, with cafe-bar, power sockets at all seats & free WiFi. See video of a journey by Iryo.

Buy tickets at www.thetrainline.com in €, £ or $ and compare prices with Renfe's AVE, or at iryo.eu in €.

Iryo uses the Frecciarossa 1000 trains, the same type as more widely used in Italy.

I have travelled on Iryo on this exact route two years ago with some other forum members; we had a a lovely experience, so it's shocking to hear of this tragedy.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

The severe Santiago crash in 2013 was at the boundary of the high speed line with the driver failing to slow for the final curve into Santiago.
This accident appears to be on open line, about 30km north-east of Cordoba where the AVE line winds through hilly terrain (Sierra Morena), also with a number of tunnels.
Line speed through the hills is apparently 200km/h, less than on the straight and level sections further north.
The Iryo train would be a Hitachi-built unit similar to the Trenitalia Frecciarosso 1000 used on high speed lines in Italy.
The Renfe Alvia train heading to Huelva would presumably be one or two CAF/Alstom S-120 units, which are dual-gauge/dual voltage and capable of through running from the AVE network to classic lines via a gauge-changer.
According to Wiki, the signalling on the route is of German design (pre-ETCS).

Madrid–Seville high-speed rail line - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The high-speed line was constructed at standard gauge, in contrast with the rest of the Spanish railway network. Voltage is 25 kV AC instead of 3000 V DC. Twelve transformers feed the overhead wires. Some 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) before the start and end points of the line, the line merges with local DC tracks.
The line was equipped with signalling standards that had been developed in the 80s for the German Hanover-Würzburg high-speed rail line and the Mannheim-Stuttgart high-speed rail line.

 

[popeter45]

It seems the Iryo was initially derailed, and then the Alvia plouged into it.

sounds like the the initial iryo Derailment threw carriages onto the other Line that the Alvia then hit if the track diagram is to go off

tragic, thoughts to everybody involved

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Very sad and scary news.

 

[Dumpton Park]

Talgo carriages vs Frecciarossa would certainly put the former in trouble, but to make matters much worse, apparently some of the Renfe train has ended up down a 4m deep drainage channel.

Just to advise/warn, some of the Spanish newspaper reporting is significantly more graphic than UK media would be, should you translate it.

RIP/DEP.

DP

 

[Merseysider]

A short video showing the extent of the damage / destruction. Truly sad.

 

[godfreycomplex]

Absolutely horrific. It looks like everything that could go wrong has gone wrong

 

[Cloud Strife]

From what I can see, the first two carriages of the Alvia train have been destroyed.

Utterly horrific, and RIP to the victims. The death toll is now up to 24, and there are 15 people seriously injured in hospital. It's not quite clear, but it seems that five of them may be in very serious condition.

From what I can see, carriages 6/7/8 of the Iryo train derailed, and then the Alvia train smashed into them. It seems that it was truly horrific timing, and the correlation between the carriages derailing and the arrival of the Alvia train is why the Spanish Minister of Transport has said that the accident is incomprehensible. The accident happened here, so it seems plausible that something went wrong with the Iryo train after it went over the crossover.

 

[petergb]

from post #1 of this thread:

The Iryo 6189 Long Distance train that covers the route between Malaga and Puerta de Atocha, in Madrid, has derailed at the entrance detours of track 1 of Adamuz, in the province of Cordoba.

I was wondering what "entrance detours" meant. Could it perhaps mean facing points?

(edited to clarify where the quote came from)

 

[HS2isgood]

It means points, yes


Update: 39 dead

Última hora del descarrilamiento de dos trenes en Adamuz, Córdoba, en directo | Se eleva a 39 la cifra de muertos en el accidente de tren en Adamuz

Sánchez se desplazará esta mañana al lugar del siniestro | Óscar Puente advierte de que el número de fallecidos podría subir, ya que hay 152 personas heridas, 24 de ellas graves | El tren Iryo accidentado pasó la última revisión hace cuatro días, según la compañía

elpais.com

According to El País

 

[yorkie]

Just a gentle reminder when posting in reference to something you read/heard from an external source, please ensure you state the source.

Please provide a link and quote if at all possible (If the source can't be linked/quoted from, please try to find another), in addition to your own comment, as per forum rules. If in doubt, contact us. Thanks.

 

[cats_five]

"At least 39 people have died in a train collision in southern Spain and dozens more have been injured in the country's worst rail crash in more than a decade, Spain's Civil Guard has said."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cedw6ylpynyo

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

El País has aerial footage:-


Adamuz


Three coaches of the S120 (CAF) have ended up in a gulley to the side of the track.

 

[chrisjo]

The site of the crash being shown on Spanish news, Estacion Adamuz, no longer exists as a station, you'll find it on Google Maps labelled as Edificio Tecnico AVE de Adamuz. There are sets of points about 580m to the north, where the rails cross a bridge over a road labelled 'Vereda del Carpio', and about 830m to the South. El Sur says that the track was "completely renewed" this year quoting the Transport Minister as saying that "At this point the renovation work was completed in May and 700 million euros has been spent on the Seville-Madrid line".

Death toll in Cordoba train crash rises to 43 | Sur in English

The accident happened at Adamuz station when a high-speed train travelling from Malaga to Madrid derailed and collided with an Alvia service heading for Huelva; rail travel between Andalucía and Madrid has been suspended; 37 people are still in hospital

www.surinenglish.com

I travelled on an Iryo on that line less than a month ago. Makes you think.

 

[hwl]

From the Guardian live coverage:

Spain train crash: rescue efforts continue as death toll rises in Córdoba crash – latest updates

At least 39 people killed after high-speed train comes off rails and slams into another service

www.theguardian.com

From the 0821 GMT addition (bold = my emphasis backing up @yorkie 's thinking last night at 2300)

Spain’s transport minister, Óscar Puente, said the cause of the accident had yet to be established. Speaking at a press conference at Atocha station in Madrid, he added it was “really strange” that a derailment should have happened on a straight stretch of track. This section of track was renewed in May, he said. Puente said most of those killed and injured had been in the first two carriages of the second train …

I'm guessing no one has informed the minister of a) the presence and b) the risks of facing points, or does he only believe that trains can derail on curved or poorly maintained track?
Points either facing or trailing if they aren't directly the cause have a long history of being the location where other problems are converted into a derailment. (Eschede being a well known high speed example)

It will be politically interesting to see how this is handled given official handling of the last Spanish HS crash:

• Train 1 derailed operated by a private operator with modern Italian built rolling stock that stood up well - it remained upright, contiguous and bodyshells intact post derailment (A good sign for HS2 as it is based on this rolling stock platform)
• Train 2 State owned and operated ~20 years old and Spanish built rolling stock (CAF + Alstom electrical equipment) has not stood up so well
• State owned infrastructure operator

Several news articles e.g. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cedw6ylpynyo have other interesting quotes from the minister:

Puente described the incident as "extremely strange". All the railway experts consulted by the government "are extremely baffled by the accident", he told reporters in Madrid.

Which suggests Spanish experts failing to understand what might have happened, which is very worrying... or just want to stay away from the inevitable blame allocation (the latter was a problem post Santiago)

 

[westcoaster]

El País has aerial footage:-


Adamuz


Three coaches of the S120 (CAF) have ended up in a gulley to the side of the track.

Also a picture gallery picture 5

El accidente de tren en Adamuz, en imágenes

Un tren Iryo descarrila en el término municipal cordobés impactando con otro tren de Alvia

elpais.com

 

[Cloud Strife]

One thing has emerged: the President of RENFE has come out and said that they don't know if the trains even collided.

Los 20 segundos entre el descarrilamiento y el choque impidieron que se activara el frenado de emergencia, según Renfe

Los trenes circulaban a 205 y 210 km/h, por debajo de la velocidad límite de ese tramo de vía de 250 km/h

elpais.com

In fact, it cannot be concluded that the Alvia train collided with the derailed Iryo carriages or with any element of the track, according to Fernández Heredia, who added that the train's wheels have not yet been located.

It seems to me that this is actually quite plausible, because the Iryo train doesn't look like it's suffered an impact. Is it possible that something happened with the points and that it wasn't a collision at all, but rather two separate derailments?

 

[BahrainLad]

From this photo of the Iryo, I too am struggling to work out the impact sequence bearing in mind the Alvia is nowhere to be seen. If one posits that the Alvia impacted carriages 6 and 7 of the Iryo, as it is fouling the other track, you’d expect it to derail away from the centre and be somewhere in the foreground.

 

[westcoaster]

One thing has emerged: the President of RENFE has come out and said that they don't know if the trains even collided.

Los 20 segundos entre el descarrilamiento y el choque impidieron que se activara el frenado de emergencia, según Renfe

Los trenes circulaban a 205 y 210 km/h, por debajo de la velocidad límite de ese tramo de vía de 250 km/h

elpais.com

It seems to me that this is actually quite plausible, because the Iryo train doesn't look like it's suffered an impact. Is it possible that something happened with the points and that it wasn't a collision at all, but rather two separate derailments?

In some of the pictures the trains seem to be in different locations.

 

[azOOOOOma]

What I see is the Iyro partially derailed with the rear two cars protruding toward the opposite line.

A few hundred metres south I see a large section of obliterated tracks affecting both sides.

And a few hundred metres south of that I see the Renfe in a ditch.

I don’t see any evidence of the trains colliding. Perhaps close ups of the protruding Iryo coaches may show scrapes/paint transfers. But the part of the Iryo train that would likely be involved in any impact with the Renfe looks largely intact.

 

[Cloud Strife]

Can someone explain to me why the rails appear to be so badly damaged here? It's a video from the Guardia Civil (widely reposted on X, so apologies for the source).

The Alvia train is to the south of this image, the Iryo train is to the north. Would a simple derailment of the Iryo train cause so much damage to the track?

 

[hwl]

One thing has emerged: the President of RENFE has come out and said that they don't know if the trains even collided.

Los 20 segundos entre el descarrilamiento y el choque impidieron que se activara el frenado de emergencia, según Renfe

Los trenes circulaban a 205 y 210 km/h, por debajo de la velocidad límite de ese tramo de vía de 250 km/h

elpais.com

It seems to me that this is actually quite plausible, because the Iryo train doesn't look like it's suffered an impact. Is it possible that something happened with the points and that it wasn't a collision at all, but rather two separate derailments?

It is quite possible that the two didn't collide and that debris from the first derailment lead to the second

The quote about the train wheels is interesting since everything apart for the trailing bogie of coach 6 is visible in the photo, hence they may well be discussing missing wheels and bogies of the S120.