A person has died and at least 37 others have been injured — five of them seriously — after a Rodalies commuter train derailed on Tuesday night in northeastern Spain. The accident occurred between the stations of Sant Sadurní d’Anoia and Gelida, in the province of Barcelona, according to regional emergency services.
The train reportedly collided with a collapsed retaining wall that had fallen onto the tracks. Authorities believe the collapse was caused by structural deterioration aggravated by heavy rainfall recorded in recent days across the region.
Emergency teams were quickly deployed to the scene to assist passengers and secure the area. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals, while investigators began assessing the condition of the railway infrastructure.
Un muerto y quince heridos en el descarrilamiento de un tren en Gelida (Barcelona) tras colisionar con un muro de contención
— EL MUNDO (@elmundoes) January 20, 2026
Imágenes cedidas por Jordi Lerezhttps://t.co/WJTfPXMmeB pic.twitter.com/PP3JflIv4p
Rail Services Suspended Across Catalonia
Following the derailment, rail services in Catalonia have been suspended. According to the official Rodalies website, train operations will not resume until “infrastructure inspection and safety checks are fully completed.” No timeline has yet been provided for the restoration of services.
Growing Concerns Over Rail Safety
This incident marks the second fatal train accident in Spain in just three days, raising renewed concerns over rail safety, infrastructure maintenance, and the impact of extreme weather conditions on transport networks.
Authorities are continuing to investigate the exact circumstances of the derailment, including whether earlier inspections could have detected the weakened structure before it collapsed.
Information Source:
https://elpais.com/espana/catalunya
Photo Attribution:
Madrid Chamartín station 2023 03 by Smiley.toerist, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Source: Wikimedia Commons (https://w.wiki/HXR2)
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