Commuter Train Strikes Crane Arm Near Cartagena — Fourth Spanish Rail Incident In A Week

A commuter train collided with a crane arm that swung into its path on Thursday near Cartagena in Spain's Murcia region, the country's transport minister said. Six people sustained minor injuries after the crane arm struck the train's windows, authorities reported.

The train remained on the tracks and the line was not derailed, but services were briefly disrupted while emergency crews and investigators secured the scene. The incident was described by Transport Minister Oscar Puente as an encroachment by a street-lighting crane onto public railway land.

Members of the Spanish police force and first responders work around the area where a commuter train collided with a crane in the country's fourth rail crash in less than a week, with several people suffering minor injuries in the crash, near the port city of Cartagena in Murcia region, Spain, January 22, 2026. REUTERS/Loyola Perez de Villegas Muniz

"A street-lighting basket crane vehicle ... encroached on public railway land with its arm, striking the windows of a metric gauge train that was passing by at the time," Transport Minister Oscar Puente wrote on X.

A spokesperson for the central government's representative in Murcia told Reuters the injuries were minor. Alcohol tests on both the train driver and the crane operator were reported negative, and local authorities have opened an investigation into the circumstances that allowed the crane arm to extend over the tracks.

Context And Safety Concerns

The Cartagena incident is the fourth rail accident in Spain in under a week, coming four days after a catastrophic high-speed train collision in Andalusia that killed at least 43 people. Two days after that crash, a commuter train derailed near Barcelona when a containment wall collapsed onto the tracks amid heavy rain; that derailment killed the driver and seriously injured four passengers.

Members of the Spanish police force work at the site where a commuter train collided with a crane in the country's fourth rail crash in less than a week, with several people suffering minor injuries in the crash, near the port city of Cartagena in Murcia region,Spain, January 22, 2026. REUTERS/Loyola Perez de Villegas Muniz

Following the series of accidents, the main train drivers' union has called a nationwide strike to protest safety standards. Authorities and rail operators say investigations are ongoing and have signaled a review of safety procedures for works and vehicles operating close to rail lines.

Reporting for this incident was contributed by Reuters journalists on the ground. Further updates will follow as investigators release more information.