The SEM regional emergency services said the train had been moving very slowly when the collision occurred just before 8am with most people suffering bumps and bruises.

“There was a collision between two trains at 7:50 am at the Montcada i Reixac-Manresa station, on the line heading in to Barcelona, that’s to say one train ran into the back of another,” a spokesman for the state rail operator told AFP.

Speaking to reporters at the scene, a spokesman for the regional fire service said the moving train had collided with “the back part” of a stationary train at Montcada station, which lies some 10 kilometres (six
miles) north of Barcelona.

The train was moving “very slowly (when the collision occurred) but people who were standing up fell over and hurt themselves,” Joan Carles Gomez, an emergency services official told reporters at the scene.

“We have examined 155 people who were affected, of which 14 were taken for further treatment but none are seriously injured,” he said.

“We’re talking about many bruises and some head injuries, but nothing serious.”

He said those taken for further treatment were being “checked at a local health centre… to rule out any fractures”.

Rail traffic along the line was suspended for several hours in both directions and Renfe had opened an investigation into what happened, he said.