Barcelona train crash injures 54 after carriage smashes into station platform

Fifty-four people have been injured in a train crash in Barcelona.

Video showed damage to the front carriage and driver's cab after the train failed to stop and hit buffers at the Spanish city's França rail station on Friday morning.

Eighteen people were transferred to hospital with just one of the injured said to be in a serious condition. Officials said the driver was among the wounded. No fatalities were reported.

Passenger Said Saharaui said: "When the train arrived at França station it applied the brakes but at the same time it made a noisy crash.

"The passengers were thrown to the floor. Even though the train did brake it wasn't until the crash when it reached a full stop."

The train was coming from Sant Vicenc de Calders, a village in the province of Tarragona, on the R2 line of the Rodalies commuter rail service, emergency services said.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known.

Eleven fire engines and six ambulances were dispatched to the station to treat the injured.

Photos showed passengers being stretchered away with others still lying on the platform floor.

The accident came as workers on Spain’s rail network Renfe staged a one-day strike. The affected train was running as part of minimum services ordered by the Public Works ministry.

França is Barcelona's second main train station after Sants, which handles most intercity services.