Second fatal train collision this year casts doubt over Spain’s high-speed rail network

Questions were raised before Toledo crash over rail safety in a country where train travel has surged by 40%

• Deadly Spanish rail collision – latest updates

Spain’s high-speed rail network, the most extensive in Europe and the second largest in the world after China, has long ranked as a point of pride in the country. But Wednesday’s deadly crash – the second in nine months – has recast the spotlight on questions about safety.

Officials said at least 68 people were killed on Wednesday morning after a high-speed train slammed into another that had stopped on the tracks, leading to the derailment of several carriages. The two trains were believed to be carrying 544 passengers.