Passengers on an early morning Avant train between Cordoba and Sevilla were left shaken on Monday after windows suddenly shattered mid-journey.

The incident happened shortly after departure, when a loud explosion-like noise was heard near Posadas.

Moments later, passengers in carriage two realised the windows along one side had splintered without warning.

‘We were really scared,’ regular commuter Rosa Natera told El Correo.

‘There was a huge bang, the glass cracked… and the train just carried on like nothing had happened.’

Although the windows did not fully break or fall out, the damage left passengers visibly shaken for the rest of the journey, especially as the train did not stop to assess the situation.

Passengers forced to move carriages

With no onboard staff immediately available, passengers contacted Renfe by phone and decided to move to another carriage as a precaution.

‘If something happens to my car, I stop and check it,’ Natera said, questioning why the train continued without interruption.

By the time the train reached its final stop at Santa Justa station, passengers noticed damage to the lower front section of the train.

Some believe an object struck the undercarriage and travelled along the side before hitting the windows.

Impact cause revealed

Renfe later confirmed the incident was caused by a collision with an animal, which led to the cracking of several windows.

The company insisted that at no point were passengers in danger and said the train was able to safely complete its journey.

Still, for those onboard, the experience has raised concerns.

It comes after a series of incidents on railway networks across Andalucia.

Most notably, a fractured rail is believed to have caused the deadly Adamuz crash in January that left 46 people dead.

Later, a collapsed bearing wall fell onto the high-speed rail track in Alora, which is still being fixed.

Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.