October 29, 2026, Unión Proletaria expresses its deepest sorrow for the victims of the accident and extends its heartfelt affection and solidarity to their families and friends, as well as to the workers of Adif, Renfe and Iryo.
Capitalism Kills: Neither Human Error Nor Fate. The Cause Is Liberalisation and Cuts.
Yesterday, 28 October 2026, Spain was once again plunged into mourning. The collision of two high-speed trains in the province of Toledo has left dozens dead and more than a hundred injured so far.
Our first and strongest expression of solidarity goes to the victims, their families and those who have been injured. There can be no consolation in the face of a tragedy of this magnitude, but we can and must demand truth, justice and political accountability.
We Refuse to Accept the Pretext of “Human Error”
It is shameful and profoundly disgraceful that the Government’s immediate response was to point the finger at a supposed “human error” by an Adif control centre operator.
They want to turn a worker into a scapegoat in order to conceal the real roots of the problem.
The facts demonstrate that the LZB automatic safety system failed, leaving several trains stationary and forcing railway operations to be carried out manually under dangerous conditions.
The question is not why a worker made a mistake in an emergency situation, but why the system failed in the first place and why maintenance was made increasingly precarious, despite being essential to ensuring its reliability.
The 2021 Liberalisation: More Traffic, Less Safety, Greater Profits
The figures speak for themselves and dismantle any attempt to defend the official narrative.
Since the liberalisation of passenger rail transport came into effect in 2021, railway accidents have increased dramatically.
In 2018, 41 accidents were investigated. By 2024, that figure had risen to 97 — more than doubling. If both accidents and incidents are included, the increase reaches 156%, rising from 50 to 128.
Official bodies themselves, such as the Spanish State Agency for Railway Safety (AESF) and the Railway Accident Investigation Commission (CIAF), directly associate this increase with the growth in railway traffic resulting from the 2021 liberalisation.
The logic of capital is criminal: more private operators competing for profits, more train services running on the network, but maintenance expenditure failing to keep pace.
Between 2019 and 2024, passenger numbers increased by 70%, while maintenance expenditure rose by only 38%.
That gap is paid for in human lives.
The privatisation of maintenance, through lax contracts and reduced oversight by Adif, has left the railway network in an intolerable state of deterioration.
The Guilty Parties: Capitalism and Its State
This was not simply an accident. It was the foreseeable consequence of a deliberate political course: privatising profits and socialising losses, including the loss of human lives.
Successive governments have implemented cuts, fragmented railway management and prioritised the arrival of private operators such as Ouigo and Iryo over the safety of the public railway network.
Far from protecting the public, the State has acted as an enabler of a model that turns public transport into a business and treats safety as an expendable cost.
These tragedies stem from a liberalising law approved by both the PSOE and the PP, as well as from an EU directive. Consequently, all three bear direct responsibility.
Our Demands
The immediate resignation of the political authorities responsible for Transport and Adif, due to their negligent management and their attempt to shift the blame onto the working class.
The reversal of railway liberalisation and the restoration of unified public control by Renfe and Adif over the entire railway network and its maintenance.
An independent and public audit to establish political and corporate accountability for the management of railway safety.
Massive and urgent investment to reverse years of cuts and the deterioration of working conditions and maintenance standards.
Today, as we mourn the victims, we state loud and clear:
CAPITALISM KILLS. SAFETY IS NOT A LUXURY — IT IS A RIGHT.
We will not allow our trains to be turned into a deadly lottery!
Unión Proletaria
28 October 2026
