Europe’s deadliest train accidents in recent years as dozens killed in Spanish crash

A high-speed train derailment in southern Spain has claimed at least 39 lives and left more than 150 people injured, authorities have confirmed.

Rail travel is a common, affordable, and convenient mode of transport for many across Europe.

Despite a reported decrease in major railway accidents since 2010, according to the European Union, this catastrophe serves as a grim reminder of how deadly they can be, echoing past incidents across the continent.

Here is a look at some of the most deadly train, tram and subway crashes in Europe in recent years.

A popular streetcar in Lisbon derailed and crashed into a building, killing 16 people and injuring 21.

A preliminary report into the funicular crash found that an underground cable acting as a counterweight between the two tram cars was unsuitable for use and broke.

open image in gallery

A passenger train in northern Greece carrying hundreds of people collided at high speed with an oncoming freight train, resulting in a fiery wreck that killed 57 people.

An investigative report into the crash blamed human error, outdated infrastructure and major systemic failures.

Two Italian commuter trains collided head-on between towns in the southern region of Puglia, killing 31 people and injuring scores more. An investigation found an error of communication between the stations from which each train departed from.

A commuter train in Spain hurtled off the rails as it came around a bend near the northwestern city of Santiago de Compostela, killing 80 and injuring 145 others.

An investigation showed the train was traveling at 179 kph (111 mph) on a stretch with an 80 kph (50 mph) speed limit when it left the tracks and smashed into a wall.

Two commuter trains just outside Brussels slammed into one another during morning rush hour when one ran a red light. In all, 19 people were killed and 171 injured in Belgium's worst train crash.

open image in gallery

A freight train in Italy carrying gas derailed at the Viareggio station, near the Tuscan city of Lucca, and exploded, killing 32 people. Poorly maintained axles of the train were blamed.

A subway train traveling at excessive speed crashed in an underground tunnel in the eastern Spanish city of Valencia, killing 43 people and injuring scores more.

It took 13 years for a court to find four managers of the city’s subway system guilty of negligent manslaughter for not taking the necessary safety measures needed to prevent the tragedy.

The failure of a braking system on a train in Montenegro caused it to derail and plunge into a ravine outside the capital, Podgorica.

The crash killed 45 people, including five children, and injured a further 184. It was the worst train disaster in Montenegro’s history.

A cable car on a funicular railway in Austria caught fire in a mountain tunnel in Kaprun, killing 155 people.

Those who died were skiers and snowboarders heading to the slopes of the Kitzsteinhorn mountain.

open image in gallery

A train heading out of London’s Paddington station went through a red light and crashed into an incoming high-speed train, killing 31 people. Around 400 people were injured.

A high-speed train in Germany traveling at 200 kph (125 mph) collided with a bridge at Eschede, causing it to collapse. The crash killed 101 people and injured a further 100. It was Germany’s deadliest postwar rail disaster.