Track Broke the Day Before Spain's Deadly Train Crash and Went Undetected

A Break That Should Have Been Caught

The track where a collision between two high-speed trains in Spain left 46 people dead in January broke the day before the accident and went undetected, Spanish media reported investigators as saying.

The January 18 disaster in Adamuz, Andalucía — one of Europe's deadliest rail catastrophes this century — happened when a Madrid-bound service run by private firm Iryo derailed and crossed onto the opposite track, smashing into an oncoming train operated by state company Renfe.

What Investigators Found

A new report from the Civil Guard, presented to the court handling the investigation, records the track breakage at 9.46pm on January 17 — the evening before the crash.

Although "an electrical alteration consistent with a break" was registered by the signalling system, it was not configured to automatically raise the alarm about it "due to the lack of reliability" of such readings, according to the report dated March 27.

The Civil Guard said the voltage variation from the evening of January 17 until the accident "is not usual", but that the technical possibility of receiving alerts about it "will have to be clarified."

What Has Been Ruled Out

The report ruled out sabotage, terrorism and negligence by the train drivers. The focus of the investigation is now firmly on the track infrastructure and the signalling system's failure to flag the break.

A preliminary report published in January by Spain's railway accident investigatory committee (CIAF) had already suggested the track was cracked before the derailment. The CIAF's full investigation, which will provide final conclusions, is ongoing.

Questions for Spain's Railway Safety

The disaster has prompted wider scrutiny of the safety of Spain's high-speed railway network — one of the largest in Europe. The key question now is why a system designed to monitor track integrity failed to alert anyone to a break that occurred a full day before trains continued to run over it at high speed.

This article is based on reporting from The Local Spain and AFP, published April 9, 2026. This article is for informational purposes only.