By Micah Jonah
January 21, 2026
A commuter train in Gelida, near Barcelona, collided with debris from a collapsed wall on Tuesday, killing the train driver and injuring 37 passengers, four of them with severity – authorities said.
Emergency crews quickly evacuated all passengers from the site.
Catalonia’s civil protection agency confirmed that heavy rains likely caused the retaining wall to collapse onto the railway tracks. Claudi Gallardo, a regional fire service inspector, reported the single fatality and multiple injuries at the scene.
The crash comes just two days after a separate derailment in southern Spain’s Andalusia region killed at least 42 people. That accident involved two trains colliding near Adamuz, Cordoba province, and occurred on a straight track at moderate speed. Spanish Transport Minister, Oscar Puente described the crash as “truly strange” and said investigators were examining whether a broken section of track contributed to the incident.
The back-to-back train disasters have intensified pressure on Spanish rail authorities to reassure the public about railway safety, with three days of national mourning underway for the Andalusia victims.
