Barcelona commuter train crashes, killing 1, days after deadly train collision in Spain

A Barcelona commuter train crashed on Tuesday (January 20, 2026) after a retaining wall fell onto the tracks, Spanish regional authorities said, killing one person and injuring at least 14 others.

The crash in Catalonia in northeastern Spain came just two days after a separate train collision killed at least 42 people in the country’s south and injured dozens more.

Emergency workers on Tuesday (January 20, 2026) were still searching for more victims in the wreckage from Sunday’s deadly train accident that took place some 800 km away as the nation began three days of mourning.

Emergency services in Catalonia said of the 15 people affected in Tuesday’s crash, three were seriously injured. Five others were in less serious condition. Emergency services said 11 ambulances had been sent to the site of the crash.

While Spain’s high-speed rail network runs smoothly, the commuter rail service is plagued by reliability issues, though accidents causing injury or death are not common in either.

The commuter train crashed near the town of Gelida, located about 35 minutes outside of Barcelona.

Spain’s railway operator ADIF said the containment wall likely collapsed due to heavy rainfall that swept across the northeastern Spanish region this week.

Antonio Sanz, the regional health minister of Andalusia, where Sunday’s accident occurred, told Spanish media that the official toll from the accident had risen after another corpse was discovered in a severely damaged car.

Health authorities said 39 people remained in hospitals on Tuesday (January 20, 2026) morning, while 83 people were treated and discharged.