The PCTE expresses its shock and grief over the rear-end collision between two trains that occurred today in Los Yébenes (Toledo), which has so far claimed 64 lives and left around a hundred people injured. We extend our condolences to the families of the victims and express h those injured, as well as with railway workers, emergency services personnel and local residents who have assisted in the rescue efforts.
The exact causes of the accident remain unknown. It is therefore particularly serious that government sources have been so quick to suggest possible human error in the media. This conclusion, reinforced by the Minister of Transport’s initial statements, is premature and simplistic. It seeks to narrow the explanation primarily to human error, placing much of the responsibility on a single railway worker.
Firstly, no such conclusion can be drawn before thorough investigations have been carried out. Secondly, even if human error were eventually confirmed, it would not provide a complete explanation of what happened. It would still be essential to establish the technical and working conditions involved and, above all, why the safety mechanisms failed, given that their very purpose is to prevent an error from turning into a tragedy. We reject any attempt to make an individual worker solely responsible without thoroughly examining political and corporate accountability. Such an investigation must also address the role of outsourcing and privatisation in railway safety systems and their maintenance.
Behind human error lies a political and economic context that has led to the deterioration of the public railway system and its services, beginning with the model of railway restructuring and privatisation introduced in 2004, when infrastructure management (ADIF) was separated from train operations (Renfe-Operadora). This division, accompanied by the fragmentation of investment and the introduction of private economic interests into railway safety, is the result of the commodification of the railway system, which undermines the service and places profit above the safety of workers and passengers.
We also demand clarification of the working conditions faced by the staff at the control centre involved in the accident, including staffing levels, shifts, workloads and rest periods. A system operating at its limits leaves no room for error, and responsibility for this does not lie with the worker sitting at the control desk.
We reaffirm our commitment to a fully public railway system under workers’ control, serving the interests of the working majority rather than private interests. We call on railway workers to organise in their workplaces and prepare for the upcoming mobilisations, beginning with those scheduled for 11 November. Privatisation and cuts are paid for in accidents and human lives, including in the workplace. We will demand that those politically and corporately responsible be held to account.
PCTE Press Office
28 October 2026