Train derailment near Córdoba, Spain

[hwl]

, or if the break occurs near a existing weld, or there are cracks or other defects in the rail, there is a possibility that the hammering caused by a fast or heavy train passing over the defect will cause another break. This increases the likelihood of a derailment. How much depends on how big the overall gap is.

Going by what the photos on page 2 show there is clean-ish vertical break about 2-3" in front of the intact weld on the righthand running rail. What we don't know is whether this was the initial break as there is quite a bit of material missing beyond this break, [circa 3/4 sleeper spacing at the top of rail to ~1 sleeper spacing a the bottom], the diagonal break at the far end of the gap suggests that the trailing end end probably wasn't the initial break, it could well have been within the missing material.

The grinding adjacent to the weld on both rails is not the best most forum members will have seen and on the broken rail the weld appears to protrude above the rail surface, though the photo isn't that clear, there appears to be some material missing from the corner before the weld

Left (intact) Right (Broken)

 

[Cloud Strife]

The Spanish Minster of Transport is being very cautious in his statements, and while the track failure is confirmed, it seems very clear that they're unwilling to point at this as being the sole cause of the accident. It's being reported by Ei Pais (https://elpais.com/espana/2026-01-18/ultima-hora-del-descarrilamiento-de-dos-trenes-en-adamuz.html) that there are numerous breaks of the track along a 200-300 metre section of track, but that it's not known if they were the cause of the accident or the consequence.

About the speculation that something underneath car #6 caused the break of the rails: what could possibly break on a train carriage that would cause such damage?

One interesting thing that is emerging is video showing AVE trains suffering from excessive vibration in this area.

 

[D6130]

Whatever cause is eventually established for this tragic incident, it just goes to show how inherently unsafe the screw couplings still used on high speed trains in most European countries are compared to the buckeye type used in the UK, Ireland, USA and Russia....amongst others. The former allow detailed vehicles to jack-knife or turn over independently of adjacent vehicles in a derailment.... whereas the latter are much more lucky to hold them upright and in line.

 

[petergb]

vertical break about 2-3" in front of the intact weld on the righthand running rail

Given that it's right hand running, should that not be behind the intact weld (from the point of view of the moving train)?

 

[MarkyT]

Here is a screen from a Sky News video which shows part of the facing crossover south of the technical station where the wreckage of the Renfe train is situated. I think it's looking North with the front cars of the Renfe in the ditch to the left. That large sheet of metal must be a major part of one of their bodyshells. A horrific event.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

An earlier statement from the Spanish Transport Minister was that the rail in the area had been replaced in May 2025.

 

[Gag Halfrunt]

it just goes to show how inherently unsafe the screw couplings still used on high speed trains in most European countries are compared to the buckeye type used in the UK, Ireland, USA and Russia....amongst others.

The inter-car coupler on the ETR 400 is an automatic coupler with a prong, a bit like a Scharfenberg or Shibata coupler but smaller.

File:InnoTrans 2024, Berlin (P1200551).jpg - Wikimedia Commons

commons.wikimedia.org

 

[hwl]

Given that it's right hand running, should that not be behind the intact weld (from the point of view of the moving train)?

It is probably best to say that the break is after the weld in the direction of travel sense as that is less open to interpretation on frames of reference. (The break is nearer to the front of the northbound train)

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 Jan 2026 ==

The inter-car coupler on the ETR 400 is an automatic coupler with a prong, a bit like a Scharfenberg or Shibata coupler but smaller.

File:InnoTrans 2024, Berlin (P1200551).jpg - Wikimedia Commons

commons.wikimedia.org

Indeed the tube is collapsible to absorb energy and allow the anti-climbers (dijon mustard colour square blocks) to impinge.
(My own photo below)

Other OEMs also have used similar slightly collapsible tube internal couplers e.g. Siemens, Stadler, Hitachi so I'm slightly puzzled by the "screw coupler" comment as it is only relevant to loco hauled.

 

[stadler]

The media are reporting that the death toll has increased to 40 now. Certainly one of the worst railway accidents that Spain has had and probably one of the worst in Mainland Europe too.

What we know about Spain's worst train disaster in over a decade

What caused the train to derail remains unclear but officials say an investigation has been launched.

www.bbc.co.uk

What we know about Spain's worst rail disaster in over a decade

19 January 2026

At least 40 people have died and dozens more have been injured after two high-speed trains collided in southern Spain, local authorities have said.

The incident near the city of Córdoba has been described by local officials as Spain's worst rail crash in more than a decade.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the scene on Monday, where he announced a three-day mourning period.

Here's what we know about the incident so far.

Where did the crash happen?

The crash occurred at around 19:45 local time (18:45 GMT) on Sunday, about an hour after one of the trains departed Málaga for Madrid.

The train derailed and crossed over to the opposite track, operator Adif said.

It then collided with an oncoming train travelling from south Madrid to Huelva, which was forced into an embankment running alongside the track, Spain's Transport Minister Óscar Puente said on Sunday.

The majority of those killed and injured were in the front carriages of the Huelva-bound train, he added.

What caused the crash?

What caused the train to derail remains unclear.

Officials say an investigation has been launched but it is not expected to determine what happened for at least a month.

Puente has described the crash as "extremely strange" and said all the railway experts consulted by the government "are extremely baffled by the accident".

The president of Spain's state-owned rail operator, Renfe, said he had "discarded" the possibility that the incident occured due to excessive speed or human error.

Álvaro Fernández Heredia told Spain's national radio RNE that even if a mistake had been made, a system within the train would have fixed it.

He added that both trains were travelling under the maximum speed limit on the stretch of track where the crash happened.

Fernández Heredia suggested a mechanical fault or an infrastructure issue was a more likely cause.

Meanwhile, at a news conference during his visit to Adamuz, Prime Minister Sánchez vowed to uncover the cause of the crash and thanked emergency workers for their help "in a moment of such pain and tragedy".

Are people still trapped in the trains?

There were around 400 passengers and staff on the two trains, operated by Iryo and Renfe, according to a statement from Renfe.

It is not clear if there are people still trapped inside the carriages but rescue teams are on site.

"The problem is that the carriages are twisted, so the metal is twisted with the people inside," Francisco Carmona, head of firefighters in Córdoba, told Spanish public broadcaster RTVE.

"We have even had to remove a dead person to be able to reach someone alive. It is hard, tricky work," he added.

The president of the Andalusian regional government, Juanma Moreno, told local outlet Canal Sur that they are waiting for "heavy machinery" to "practically lift" parts of the second train, which "has taken the worst part of this accident".

"Until the heavy machinery can do its job and free the wagons from the track", emergency services will not be able to start "searching and identifying" any remaining victims, he added.

Who are the victims?
The 39 victims of the crash have not yet been identified, with Puente saying the death toll "is not yet final" as investigations into the crash commence.

As of Monday afternoon, 122 people had received medical assistance, 48 of whom remained hospitalised, local emergency services said.

Among the 48 victims still in hospital, five are under the age of 18.

Moreno said teams are working to identify those who have died.

What have the survivors said?

Passengers on board the Madrid-bound train described the moment of impact feeling like an "earthquake" and said it shattered the train's windows, displaced luggage and threw people to the floor.

"I was in the first carriage. There was a moment when it felt like an earthquake and the train had indeed derailed," journalist Salvador Jimenez told Canal Sur.

"There were people screaming, calling for doctors," he added.

Another passenger, Lucas Meriako, told Spanish broadcaster La Sexta Noticias he was in the fifth carriage of the same train when he started to "feel some banging" that got louder and louder.

"Another train passed us and everything started vibrating. There was a jolt behind us and the feeling that the whole train was going to fall apart," he described.

One thing i note is that the BBC News images seem to indicate that the RENFE train was four cars with two power cars and two passenger cars like a TGV unit. But in reality it is a normal four coach Class 120 unit with all four coaches being passenger coaches.

The images on the BBC News also seem to show that the IRYO train was a Talgo train as the images are clearly very short low floor Talgo carriages. But in reality it is a Pendolino style Frecciarossa 1000 unit with normal style long carriages.

 

[petergb]

It is probably best to say that the break is after the weld in the direction of travel

Yes, excellent, that's a good way to put it which avoids any ambiguity

The article is paywalled for me now

Try going here https://archive.ph/ and put the URL you want into the lower box on the page. This will reveal whether any snapshots of the page have already been cached. The cached snapshots will probably show you what you want to see.

 

[andybarsblade]

The inter-car coupler on the ETR 400 is an automatic coupler with a prong, a bit like a Scharfenberg or Shibata coupler but smaller.

File:InnoTrans 2024, Berlin (P1200551).jpg - Wikimedia Commons

commons.wikimedia.org

That's what we call a "semi-permanent" coupler with a deformation tube, by the looks of it i'd say activation at 1300-1500kN

 

[mpthomson]

Gareth is not guessing - he has considered the available video evidence and presented a realistic hypothesis. He may not be on the ground or part of any official investigation but his hypothesis appears to be credible.

I expect that the final official investigation will not vary by much.

No, he’s guessing. He’s not part of the investigation and has no access to it. He may be correct, he may not be and his hypothesis may well be credible, but it didn’t alter the fact that he doesn’t actually know.

His rail experience should make him think twice before espousing his guess as facts, but that’s never stopped him before. He really should know better than this but when monetised social media engagement is important…

 

[rmHawk765]

One interesting thing that is emerging is video showing AVE trains suffering from excessive vibration in this area.

Surely this was reported one way or another to RENFE...

 

[neonison]

The Guardian reports:
Spain train crash: drivers had raised concerns over track before collision that killed 39 –as it happened
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/jan/19/spain-train-crash-rescue-cordoba-latest-news-updates?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with:block-696e2de28f08ea50a5d43999#block-696e2de28f08ea50a5d43999

Report: train drivers union raised concerns about railway track​

Spain’s train drivers union had written a letter to state-owned rail infrastructure administrator ADIF last August warning about the railway track where the two trains collided, Reuters reports.

According to a copy of the letter seen by Reuters, the train drivers union SEMAF said that along that stretch of track, potholes and imbalances in overhead power lines were causing frequent breakdowns and damaging the trains.

ADIF did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

 

[chrisjo]

Surely this was reported one way or another to RENFE...

It would be Renfe, the operator, reporting it to Adif, the infrastructure manager.

 

[lfc84]

Spanish media outlet RTVE has posted this image on their website and x page:

RTVE has obtained a new image, showing a new angle of the site of the Adamuz train accident. The image, of the section of track at the center of the investigation, reveals a break in the rail with cracked welds.

 

[rmHawk765]

This is starting to be more and more reminiscent of Hatfield...

 

[chrisjo]

Spanish media outlet RTVE has posted this image on their website and x page:

So we can now pinpoint the break on a map accurately. The location is almost immediately below the OLE gantry immediately south of the southern set of points, here:

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

maps.app.goo.gl

So if this is where the Iryo de-railed, it travelled a further 800m plus, trashing the points in passing, before coming to rest at the old station with only the rear three cars off the rails. The 120 never got as far south as this.

 

[D6130]

The inter-car coupler on the ETR 400 is an automatic coupler with a prong, a bit like a Scharfenberg or Shibata coupler but smaller.

File:InnoTrans 2024, Berlin (P1200551).jpg - Wikimedia Commons

commons.wikimedia.org

So it is....every day's a school day! Must have been thinking of the earlier Frecciarossa units with the separate class E404 power cars. They still don't look as rigid as a buckeye though.

 

[35B]

This is starting to be more and more reminiscent of Hatfield...

Is it? The consequences put me more in mind of Potters Bar; the cause still seems unclear - we don't know what caused that break, or the overturned rail, or how cause and effect were mixed

 

[rmHawk765]

Is it? The consequences put me more in mind of Potters Bar; the cause still seems unclear - we don't know what caused that break, or the overturned rail, or how cause and effect were mixed

I mean in all fairness they're both similar - it's just that Hatfield came to mind for me because points do not seem to be directly involved in this.

 

[BahrainLad]

Surely this was reported one way or another to RENFE...

More video coming out (not just regarding Madrid-Seville). The two X links below include various short clips of high speed trains on lines in Spain with very rough riding.

https://x.com/Josetefel/status/2013380310776332689?s=20

https://x.com/edatvoficial/status/2013312127512039928?s=20

 

[35B]

I mean in all fairness they're both similar - it's just that Hatfield came to mind for me because points do not seem to be directly involved in this.

Fair comment about Potters Bar; Heck may be a better parallel in terms of the severity of the incident relative to the underlying cause. I'm hesitant to say "Hatfield" because I've yet to see anything that proves or disproves the sort of circumstances that led to Hatfield.

Time will tell

 

[azOOOOOma]

More video coming out (not just regarding Madrid-Seville)

https://x.com/Josetefel/status/2013380310776332689?s=20

https://x.com/edatvoficial/status/2013312127512039928?s=20

Wow. I don’t think I’ll ever complain about Azuma ride quality. Even when I’ve been slammed against a wall for the tenth time in a day. I’m led to believe that on the continent trains simply glide from great city to great city at high speed for less than the cost of a coffee. It doesn’t seem to be the case.

 

[chrisjo]

More video coming out (not just regarding Madrid-Seville)

Notable in the comments to these and elsewhere is the widespread expectation, or I could say assumption, from the Spanish public that there are serious movements behind the scenes to ensure that it is ILSA (Iryo) that ends up getting fingered rather than Renfe or Adif. This expectation should come as no surprise at all to anyone familiar with the workings of the Spanish government and business system.

 

[rmHawk765]

I’m led to believe that on the continent trains simply glide from great city to great city at high speed for less than the cost of a coffee. It doesn’t seem to be the case.

At 300km/h+ a train will never 'glide' along. Probably the best ride quality you can get is on a TGV because the coaches are unpowered, and while the ride quality on those at 300-320km/h is good, you can't beat physics, and it still shakes to some extent.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Quite a few videos emerging of apparently extremely rough riding on this section of line in recent weeks. Certainly rougher than I’ve ever witnessed on LGV Nord, for example.

My brother (recently retired worked for London Underground) and my sister-in-law, did the journey 10 days ago and reported exactly the same to me.

This is starting to be more and more reminiscent of Hatfield...

Agreed. See post 54. Gareth Dennis also thinks so.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

Despite the terrible tragedy, RENFE, in the best railway tradition, is managing to put on some alternative services to Andalucía.

El Pais

(Translated).

Renfe activates rail service between Madrid and Andalusia, with a section in Cordoba by bus.
Renfe has activated this morning an alternative operational transport plan that will allow high-speed services to operate between Madrid and Andalusia, although the section between Villanueva de Córdoba and Córdoba will be done by bus, thus avoiding passing through the site of the accident.
The operation will continue as long as the line remains closed, and the company explained in a statement that it is already working to put tickets on sale, although it asks that only those who need to travel "for strictly necessary reasons" take advantage of this plan.
The operator explains that the road journey by bus between Cordoba and Villanueva de Cordoba will increase travel times, although this will allow departures from Madrid-Puerta de Atocha at 7:00, 11:00, 15:00 and 19:00 towards Seville, and at 9:00, 13:00 and 17:00 towards Malaga.
Trains will depart from Seville at 6:03, 9:55, 14:01 and 18:03, while trains will depart from Malaga at 7:55, 11:55 and 15:55, for all the days that the Adamuz (Cordoba) section is suspended.
As for the intermediate stops of these services, the trains between Madrid and Villanueva de Córdoba will stop in Ciudad Real and Puertollano, while the services between Córdoba and Málaga will stop in Antequera (Málaga), and there will be no intermediate services between Seville and Córdoba.
Nevertheless, travelers can request a free refund of their original ticket and purchase a new one corresponding to the services included in the alternative transport plan or make a change with a refund of the difference.
Renfe will also offer passengers a daily conventional train service from Chamartín to Seville (at 7:00 a.m.), Cádiz (at 3:00 p.m.), and Granada and Almería (at 4:25 p.m.). From Andalusia, this service will run at 6:35 a.m. from Cádiz, 8:31 a.m. from Almería, and 3:00 p.m. from Seville.
At the same time, Renfe has increased capacity on the Madrid–Extremadura–Seville Medium Distance line by 736 seats. (EFE)

Published at: 06:50 WET 20/01/2026

El País

 

[rmHawk765]

from the Spanish public that there are serious movements behind the scenes to ensure that it is ILSA (Iryo) that ends up getting fingered rather than Renfe or Adif.

How the hell are they going to blame an operator for this?

 

[edwin_m]

How the hell are they going to blame an operator for this?

There was suggestion quoted somewhere upthread that a weight being dragged along by the Iryo caused the rail break.

Looking at #106 I'm more doubtful about the double rail break. There's almost certainly another break near the facing point where the rail beyond is still upright, and the force of the accident could easily have moved the detached section in the direction of travel and opened up the gap. The photo isn't good enough to show where the other end of this piece is relative to what it was connected to.

It does look very much as if (as at Heck) the facing point diverted the derailed vehicles, which would otherwise have gone relatively harmlessly to the right, over towards the other track.