Train hits crane in Spain, the 4th accident in a week; train drivers call strike

Spain has another train accident, the fourth in less than a week Reuters A passenger train collided with a crane this Thursday (22), near Cartagena, in southeastern Spain, leaving “several minor injuries”, the national railway company Renfe told AFP. It was the fourth railway accident in the country in less than a week. “There are several minor injuries”, and the service was interrupted between Cartagena and Los Nietos, explained a Renfe spokeswoman, specifying that the train did not derail. She clarified that “an external crane”, which did not belong to Renfe, was involved in the collision. ✅ Follow the g1 international news channel on WhatsApp The manager of the Spanish railway network, Adif, announced that the service was resumed approximately 1h30 after the accident. Contacted by AFP, the regional emergency services confirmed that they were called at 12:04 pm to respond to an accident in the city of Alumbres, which resulted in “several minor injuries”, but did not provide an exact number. This collision occurs at a time when the safety of the Spanish railway system is questioned, after two serious accidents left 44 people dead since Sunday (18). The first was the disaster in Adamuz, Andalusia, where at least 43 people died on Sunday night when two high-speed trains collided. The causes of the tragedy are being investigated. The death toll remains provisional as rescue teams search for other bodies in the wreckage. Two high-speed trains derail and leave people dead in Spain Two days later, in Catalonia, a metropolitan train heading to Barcelona collided with the debris of a retaining wall that collapsed onto the tracks, near the small town of Gelida. The driver died and five other people were seriously injured. It was raining heavily at the time of the accident, on Tuesday night. A third derailment on Barcelona’s regional rail network was caused by a rockslide onto the tracks during the same storm, but there were no injuries, according to Adif, the operator of Spain’s national rail network. Photo taken on January 21, 2026 shows the train collision AFP Emergency teams work after a passenger train derails in the Barcelona region, on January 20, 2026 AP Photo/Joan Mateu Parra Train drivers’ strike in February In this context of great tension, the main train drivers’ union called a three-day strike, from February 9 to 11, to demand measures to improve safety in rail transport. “We cannot and should not question our (railway) network, nor our country’s public transport. It is not perfect, nor infallible, but it is an excellent transport system”, responded the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, at a press conference on Wednesday night. He said he wanted to “meet the demands” of train drivers, but hoped the strike would be called off. The country was still mourning the victims of the Adamuz train disaster on Wednesday, the second day of a three-day period of national mourning. Trains derail in Spain and leave people dead Reproduction The socialist leader promised “absolute transparency” regarding the Adamuz tragedy. With 4,000 kilometers of track, the Spanish high-speed rail network is the second largest in the world, after China, and a source of pride for the country. Spain, the second most popular tourist destination in the world, has not recorded serious accidents involving trains since 2013, when a derailment killed 80 people near Santiago de Compostela (northwest).

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