Train collision at Urda (Toledo): who is liable, and who pays the victims?

Organisations can commit offences too, but only those on a closed list set by the Spanish Criminal Code, and they are never punished with prison. They face penalties of their own: fines, dissolution, suspension of activities, closure of premises, a ban on the activity concerned or disqualification from public contracts and public aid, among others (art. 33.7 of the Criminal Code) ^[4]. Manslaughter and injury through negligence are not on that list, so in an accident like this one the organisation cannot be criminally convicted. Moreover, ADIF and Renfe are public business entities, which the Criminal Code expressly excludes from this liability (art. 31 quinquies) ^[4]. In short: for manslaughter through negligence only individuals can go to prison, and the organisation cannot be charged with this offence. But that does not release it from paying: it is civilly liable, with its insurers directly liable and the organisation itself liable in the alternative for offences committed by its employees (arts. 117 and 120.4) ^[4], on top of its liability as a carrier towards its passengers.

Manslaughter through gross negligence carries one to four years in prison (art. 142.1 of the Criminal Code), plus professional disqualification where the negligence is professional. Since 2019, where there are several deaths and the negligence is of notorious gravity, the judge may raise the sentence by one degree and, if the number of deaths is very high, by two (art. 142 bis, introduced by Organic Law 2/2019) ^[4]: up to nine years in prison. That rule did not yet exist at the time of Angrois.

It is the mirror in which we all look. Eleven years after the 2013 accident near Santiago de Compostela, Criminal Court no. 2 of Santiago sentenced the train driver and ADIF's former head of traffic safety to two and a half years in prison each for 79 counts of manslaughter and 143 of injury through negligence, with the insurers directly liable for compensation and Renfe and ADIF liable in the alternative ^[5]. In January 2026, as reported, the Provincial Court of A Coruña upheld the driver's conviction, acquitted the executive and raised the compensation to more than €22 million ^[6]. The lesson is uncomfortable: the fault of the person at the controls is relatively easy to prove; that of whoever should have prevented the risk from an office, much less so.

It is the most useful comparison, because it closely resembles what lies ahead. On 18 January, an Iryo train derailed near Adamuz (Córdoba) and collided with a Renfe Alvia; 46 people died. The case is being investigated by the court of Montoro, which in June provisionally classified the facts as manslaughter and injury through negligence ^[7], and which in October is still awaiting the analyses of the sleepers and ballast it commissioned from public laboratories; to date the accident has not been attributed to any individual ^[8]. The money, on the other hand, has moved. Nine days after the accident, the Government approved Royal Decree-law 1/2026, which grants the family of each person killed direct aid of €72,121.46, non-repayable and compatible with any compensation, and an equal amount as an advance on civil-liability compensation, to which the State is subrogated; injured passengers receive aid according to the severity of their injuries, of up to €84,141.70 ^[9]. And ADIF's insurer has deposited more than €27 million with the court for the victims, without anyone having been charged ^[10]. Not everything has gone well: in April, the victims' spokesperson complained that they had received nothing from the insurers ^[11]. But the lesson is clear: the criminal route will take years; the financial one can and must move sooner.

No. The European regulation on rail passengers' rights requires the company the passenger was travelling with to make an advance payment without delay and, at the latest, within fifteen days of identifying the person entitled to it; in the event of death, it may not be less than €21,000 per passenger (art. 15 of Regulation (EU) 2021/782) ^[12]. The advance is not an admission of liability and is deducted from the final compensation. In addition, every ticket includes the Compulsory Passenger Insurance, which pays out according to a statutory scale without anyone's fault having to be proven ^[13].

You do not have to work that out in order to start being paid. The advance is owed by the company you bought your ticket from, whether or not it was responsible for the accident, as the Adamuz Royal Decree-law itself points out ^[9]. Who pays in the end, and in what proportion, will be settled later between all those responsible and their insurers.

The criminal judge sets it in the judgment, unless the victim reserves the claim for separate civil proceedings. Insurers are directly liable up to the limit of their policy (art. 117 of the Criminal Code), and organisations are liable in the alternative for offences committed by their employees (art. 120.4). Public bodies are likewise liable in the alternative for their staff acting in the course of their duties, without prejudice to state liability and without anyone being paid twice for the same loss (art. 121) ^[4].

Join the proceedings. Anyone criminally liable for an offence is also civilly liable if the act caused loss or damage (art. 116 of the Criminal Code) ^[4], and the natural way to assert both is to take part in the criminal proceedings from the outset. Those harmed can and should join the preliminary investigation already under way at the Orgaz court: as private prosecutors, they will be able to request investigative measures, see the case file once the seal is lifted and claim compensation within the same proceedings. The law allows them to do so up to the stage at which the charges are formulated (art. 110 of the Criminal Procedure Act) ^[15], but waiting is a mistake: what is not requested during the investigation is hard to recover at trial.

It can happen: if the investigation fails to attribute criminally relevant negligence to anyone, the judge may close the case. That does not leave victims without a remedy. The administrative route remains open, through a state-liability claim against ADIF as public manager of the infrastructure, as does the civil route against the company the passenger was travelling with and its insurers. While the criminal case is open, the time limit for those other routes is, as a rule, suspended; but once it is closed, the deadlines are short: for state-liability claims, one year, which for personal injury runs from recovery or from the moment the after-effects are determined (art. 67.1 of Law 39/2015) ^[14]. That is why it is best not to wait for the criminal case to end before preparing the claim.

Everything that proves you were on the train and what the accident has cost you. It is what will allow you to receive the advance, the insurance and the final compensation, and it is what gets lost most easily over time:

• The ticket or, if you no longer have it, the proof of payment, the booking or the company's confirmation email.
• Every medical report: A&E, admission, discharge, tests, follow-ups and any physiotherapy or psychological treatment.
• Sick-leave and return-to-work certificates, and payslips or proof of income from before and after the accident.
• Invoices and receipts for medicines, orthopaedic material, transport, taxis, accommodation, meals and any other expense caused by the accident, including those of relatives who travelled.
• A list of personal belongings lost or damaged, with their value and, if possible, photographs.
• The names and contact details of other passengers who could act as witnesses.

Keep the originals and make copies, and do not sign any waiver or settlement with the company or its insurer without first consulting your lawyer.