After the 2013 train accident in Santiago de Compostela, Spain has been hit again by a train derailment that has so far claimed almost 40 lives and injured some 120. The tragedy took place at 7.45pm on Sunday, this time in Andalusia, shortly after the departure of a high-speed train belonging to the Iryo company. The train carrying 300 passengers derailed on a straight stretch before being hit by another high-speed train from Renfe, the Spanish national carrier, arriving at full speed with 200 people on board.
At a press conference, Transport Minister Óscar Puente stated that ". the accident is extremely strange because it happened on a straight line".. What's more, the track on which the derailment took place underwent renovation work in 2025, and the train was new, operated by Iryo for 4 years and overhauled just a few days ago.
Adif, the Spanish public body in charge of the rail network, has suspended train services on the Andalusian route between the capital Madrid and the cities of Seville, Cordoba, Malaga and Huelva. Iryo has cancelled and refunded all tickets until traffic resumes. The carrier has a market share of 28% on this southern corridor, but 21% overall on high-speed services in Spain. The investigation will have to determine the causes of this derailment, which is considered to be a "major accident". very rare "by Óscar Puente. "The accident occurred on a straight line on a section limited to 250 km/h. The first train was travelling at 205 km/h and the Renfe train at 210 km/h, so there was no speeding involved. The first train was travelling at 205 km/h and the Renfe train at 210 km/h, so it was not speeding.said Álvaro Fernández Heredia, Chairman of Renfe.
Iryo in Spain since November 2022
Spain is the country with the largest high-speed rail network in Europe (and the 2th in the world behind China), with more than 3,900 km, ahead of France with 2,800 km. The country is also one of the most advanced in opening up this high-speed rail market in Europe. Renfe, the incumbent operator, will only have a market share of 46% after the arrival of Ouigo Spain, a subsidiary of SNCF, in March 2021 and Iryo in December 2022. The latter is 51% owned by Italian group FS Ferrovie dello Stato (Trenitalia's shareholder in France), 25% by Spanish airline Air Nostrum and 24% by infrastructure concessionaire Globalvia. The company is positioned in a Premium segment with business customers for its Infinita and Infinita Bistro classes, corresponding respectively to Business and Executive in France, where Trenitalia operates routes to Lyon, Marseille and Milan.
Ouigo, 3th a player in Spain's high-speed rail network
In 2024, high-speed trains will carry more than 40 million passengers in Spain, including more than 25 million for Renfe via its classic offer and its low-cost Avlo trains. The latter are in competition with Ouigo Spain, which offered more than 9 million seats in 2025. With a market share of over 20%, Ouigo Spain is almost on a par with Iryo. The SNCF carrier was hoping to finally achieve profitability by the end of 2025, after losing around €150m in four years. It had hoped to achieve this objective earlier, but the approval of the rolling stock destined for the new Andalusian lines has delayed this deadline.
