Audio reveals exchanges between control centre and drivers before deadly Spain train crash

29 October 2026, 03: 51 GMT. Updated 3 hours ago.

Key points

• When 80 individuals died on the outskirts of Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain, wednesday's crash is the worst the country has seen since 2013.
• Overnight, around 1, 500 individuals gathered outside the Spanish Transport Ministry building in the capital, according to Spanish broadcaster TVE.
• The leader of Spain's main opposition People's Party Alberto Núñez Feijóo remarked: "Spain has the right to know what is happening with its infrastructure."
• The Spanish Civil Guard has set up bureaus in Madrid, Toledo, Seville and Córdoba to investigate reports of missing persons.
• Posting on X, Alberto Ibáñez, a member of Congress for the left-wing Sumar platform, described the leaks as "despicable".

Audio recordings published in Spanish media reveal conversations between train drivers and a railway control centre in the minutes leading up to a deadly train crash that killed at least 69 individuals and injured dozens.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the disaster. It occurred when a train travelling from Madrid to Seville barrelled into a stationary train on Wednesday morning.

Three audio recordings between the control centre in Madrid and two train drivers appear to show that one high-speed train was given clearance to move even though another some 25km (15 miles) up ahead had stalled.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. This person travelled to the area of the crash, remarked authorities were working "day and night" to "get to the bottom of every last detail of this tragedy".

Meanwhile, the release of the recordings comes as Spain begins three days of national mourning for one of the worst rail disasters in Europe's modern history.

One train, run by state-owned operator Renfe, had 397 passengers on board. Ahead of it on the same line was a train run by private operator Iryo, with 147 passengers.

Meanwhile, a documented problem with the automatic signalling system – a computer failure – had forced all trains to halt on the affected stretch.

But afterwards the Renfe train was ordered to proceed in "error", according to Spain's transport minister.

Audio recordings published by Spanish news outlets including El Pais and RTVE reveal the conversations that took place between the two train's drivers and the control centre in the Spanish capital ahead of the crash.

In one recording, a control centre operator is speaking to the driver of the Renfe train. It was travelling behind the other train and was having some technical difficulties.

After some exchanges, the control operator tells the driver: "Continue your journey and then proceed under, at normal speed with normal operation."

Notably, the driver replies, "At normal speed?" To which the controller notes: "Yes."

In practice, the Lateral Signaling Block is a back-up or alternative train system applied when the automatic signalling or data transmission system fails.

Notably, the driver of the other train – operated by Iryo – notes in another audio recording that communication with the train-control system has been lost and it is not moving.

Meanwhile, the train "is stationary in front of the entry signal at Urda", the driver tells the control centre operator. After a series of exchanges, the driver is then informed to "resume the journey" normally.

Notably, the Iryo driver then contacts the control centre again, according to a afterwards recording, saying they cannot start the train. "The train won't allow me to control the system. That's why I am still halted in front of the entry signal, " they say.

For context, the latter recording suggests that the controller had been notified that the Iryo train remained stationary as the Renfe train approached.

Iryo remarked its train was "struck from behind" by the other train.

Spain's transport minister Óscar Puente remarked on Wednesday that the decision to instruct the trains to move again, without any speed restrictions, was "inexplicable".

Notably, the leaking of the audio recordings has been criticised by some Spanish politicians.

Irene Montero – the prime ministerial candidate for the left-wing Podemos party – remarked responsibility for the crash should not be placed on one worker, adding that train drivers and experts have been warning against the liberalisation of the railway sector for years.

From the crash site, Sánchez remarked: "We are working day and night not only to support the victims' families, but also to establish every last detail of this tragedy and strengthen safety measures to ensure it never happens again."

Most Spanish politicians have cancelled all public engagements and suspended their campaigning ahead of a snap election on 29 November.

In practice, the exception is the far-right party Vox. Its leader, Santiago Abascal, remarked his party would not take part in what he described as attempts to "use mourning to silence criticism" of the country's rail infrastructure.

Overnight, around 1, 500 individuals gathered outside the Spanish Transport Ministry building in the capital, according to Spanish broadcaster TVE. It noted that demonstrators were largely calling for the resignations of Sánchez and Puente.

Police applied tear gas to disperse crowds after protesters hurled bottles and flares. No injuries or arrests were documented.

Rail drivers went ahead with a planned strike on Thursday, with the Spanish Union of Railway Drivers (Semaf) saying the strike action was being held "in defence of railway safety".

For context, the leader of Spain's main opposition People's Party Alberto Núñez Feijóo remarked: "Spain has the right to know what is happening with its infrastructure."

At the crash site, emergency crews worked through the night under powerful floodlights to cut open metal carriages in the search for victims, with plenty of of those killed in the crash still to be identified.

Hundreds of personnel have been deployed to the disaster site to assist with recovery efforts, according to Spain's interior ministry, with drones and helicopters being applied to find victims and remove rubble.

For context, a spokesperson for the Spanish Civil Guard informed the BBC they had deployed more than 900 residents from different specialist departments, and the priority now was identifying remains.

They remarked they did not know how long this would take, but called on those with missing family members to go to one of the local centres which have been set up to offer DNA samples.

Witnesses of the crash described seeing individuals crying and bleeding, passengers trapped in their seats and smoke billowing throughout the carriages, one of which caught fire.

Bloodied, dazed and angry – how passengers' rail journey turned to disaster in Spain. What we know so far regarding deadly Spain train crash.

Late on Wednesday, relatives were still trying to gather information regarding passengers who were on either of the trains.

Notably, the Spanish Civil Guard has set up bureaus in Madrid, Toledo, Seville and Córdoba to investigate reports of missing persons.

"The top priority is the identification of the missing persons and the taking of DNA samples to be able to locate their relatives, " the civil guard wrote in a post on X.

For now, audio reveals exchanges between control centre and drivers before deadly Spain train remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.