Spain's high-speed rail suffers biggest drop since Covid-19 due to Adamuz crash

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The number of AVE passengers fell by 32% in February, dragging the entire railway sector with a 15% drop

Cristina Cándido

Friday, 10 April 2026, 15:29

The train accident in Adamuz (Cordoba) in January and the resulting delays due to speed restrictions and other operational issues have eroded passengers' trust in the high-speed rail in Spain. The number of passengers using the services of operators Renfe, Iryo, and Ouigo plummeted by 32% in February to 2.16 million - the largest drop in demand since the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to data the national institute of statistics (Ine) released on Friday, the overall number of passengers using the country's rail dropped, but the decrease in the use of the AVE (high-speed) service significantly contrasts with the exponential growth of recent years.

Alongside this decline, which started with the suspension of the Madrid-Seville line following the accident on 18 January, the number of long-distance passengers also fell by more than 18%. Medium-distance passengers dropped by 29.3%, to 2.66 million. Commuter rail services also declined by 13.8% in February, to 43.65 million, reflecting the impact of another accident on operations: the one in Gelida (Barcelona) on the Rodalies de Catalunya network on 20 January.

The bus and the Cercanías line absorb traffic

On the other hand, Ine figures show a 15% increase in long-distance bus travel, reaching 1.8 million passengers. The largest increases occurred in Extremadura (8.9%), the Basque Country (7.9%) and Castilla y León (7.5%).

Similarly, commuter and medium-distance bus services also registered positive figures, with growth of 5.3% and 3.6%, respectively. The coach hire service for tourism and events stood out with a 6% increase.

Meanwhile, domestic air travel also declined by 1.8% compared to the same period in 2025, with a total of 3.27 million passengers. Transport between the mainland and the islands fell by 4.9% and flights within mainland Spain saw a slight decrease of 0.1%, while inter-island flights increased by 4.1%.