The train accident in Spain, which occurred near the Adamuz station following the derailment of an Iryo train which collided with a convoy coming from the opposite direction, has put the spotlight back on the safety of rail transport not only in the Iberian country, but also throughout Europe.
Despite the severity of the episode – during which at least 39 people lost their lives and 150 were injured – the train remains the safest means of land transport, with the plane remaining the safest in absolute terms.
As regards Italy, the latest Annual Report on the Safety of Interconnected Railways (published in October 2025 and relating to 2024) found 103 significant accidents during the year – mainly caused by the presence of pedestrians on the tracks -, compared to over 4 million trains in circulation in the 12 months.
Looking instead at Spain, in 2024 the Iberian country reached a new record for passengers, but also for collisions: 690 million people used this means of transport to move throughout the country, (+3.8% compared to the previous year), but train collisions recorded a +69%. Nonetheless, during the year there were 18 fatal accidents, with a total of 19 deaths and 3 serious injuries, a value significantly lower than the Italian average.
Why the train is considered safe: data in Italy
According to the Annual Report, in 2024, 103 significant accidents were recorded in Italy, for a total of 86 victims (deaths and serious injuries) against 1.4 billion total passengers. This is a figure which, when compared with traffic volumes, is lower than the average value of the last 10 years and lower than the number of events recorded in 2023.
As specified in the report, the Italian railway network extends for approximately 18,000 km in total, with over 5,000 level crossings and 20,000 viaducts and tunnels. Overall, over 10,000 trains circulate per day, equivalent to approximately 4 million trains traveling per year.
This means that, in our country, it occurs 1 accident every 38,835 rail journeys, which however differ in terms of km travelled. To give you an idea, the mortality rate is 1.46 people per million inhabitants. In the case of road transport, the mortality rate is 51.4 deaths per million inhabitants.
A major problem in Italian railway safety concerns pedestrian crossing of tracks: by 2024, in fact, 77% of serious accidents were caused by the undue presence of pedestrians (79 accidents in total), with 92% of victims losing their lives for the same reason.
As regards the other causes of railway accidents, maintenance contexts and construction sites caused 12 accidents, equal to approximately 11% of the total, the incorrect execution of operating and maneuvering procedures caused 5 accidents (5% of the total), the undue presence of road vehicles was the basis of 3 accidents, while hydrogeological instability caused 2 accidents.
Regarding railway safety, however, the most important data is the following: accidents strictly of a railway nature, such as collisions between trains (6 in 2024) and derailments (4) did not cause victims, but only material damage. The main risks, therefore, concern those outside the train, and not those traveling on board.
In short, if in Italy railway accidents such as collisions and derailments are clearly decreasing, safety for pedestrians’ access to the tracks remains to be improved.
Comparison with train safety in Spain
So, is train safety in Spain a problem? In 2024 the country reached a new record of rail passengers, equal to 690 million over the 12 months (+3.8% compared to 2023), also thanks to government incentives. At the same time, however, the increase in trains in circulation has caused an increase in accidents. According to data from the INE (Spanish National Institute of Statistics), in 2024 they were registered 63 “significant” rail accidents – i.e. those that have caused at least one serious injury or caused serious material damage – compared to a volume of railway movements that increased by 0.7% as regards passenger transport.
These are 14 accidents less than in 2023 (-18.2%) compared to the previous year and 40 serious accidents less than those in Italy. The number of derailments, however, was higher than in Italy, with a total of 12. Among these, one of the most notable was the derailment of an empty train in Madrid, which was intentionally driven off the tracks to avoid a collision with a train full of passengers.
It should be considered, among other things, that Spain has one of the most extensive high-speed railway networks in the world, with over 4,000 km of AVE (Alta Velocidad) lines, on which trains travel from the state company Renfe but also from private operators such as Iryo itself, 51% controlled by the Italian State Railways.
