Spain’s transport minister quits after train crash kills 69

Spain’s transport minister, Óscar Puente, resigned on Nov. 3 over the Oct. 28 high-speed train crash near Urda, in Toledo province, that killed 69 people, and said he will not stand in the coming general election.

It is the second deadly accident on the Madrid-Seville line in under a year. A January derailment near Adamuz, in Córdoba province, killed 46, so the two disasters have cost 115 lives between them.

Puente announced his decision at the end of an appearance before the Permanent Deputation of the Congress of Deputies, the standing committee of Spain’s lower house, according to Euronews and Railway Gazette.

“A transport minister in a country like Spain cannot continue in office with two accidents of this severity in less than a year,” Puente said, as quoted by Al Jazeera, which drew on AFP and Reuters reporting.

Railway Gazette quoted him as calling the resignation “a question of political dignity, coherence and empathy with the victims, whether or not I am directly responsible.” Euronews quoted him as saying it was “an act of political responsibility” and “good for the country and for democracy.”

Puente said he decided to go in the first minutes after the crash but waited until initial investigations were done and the first safety measures were in place, Railway Gazette reported. Al Jazeera said he stayed on while the government coordinated its initial response.

Euronews reported that the Adif control centre, which manages Spain’s rail infrastructure, allowed the Renfe high-speed train to keep running after its LZB safety system failed, and that the train then hit a stationary train operated by the private company Iryo. Al Jazeera gave the same account. The final cause has not been published, and the safety agency’s review is continuing.

Railway Gazette said Puente announced measures the Council of Ministers had already endorsed. They include a thorough review of train protection systems on the Madrid-Seville line by the national rail safety agency, fewer services until early 2027, and a rule that two people must authorize any order the control centre gives drivers. He also said the April 2027 target for the ETCS Level 2 signalling system will not be met.

Opposition parties had pressed him to go. Euronews said the Popular Party, Vox, the Basque nationalist PNV and Junts had demanded his resignation. Ester Muñoz of the Popular Party said a minister’s job “is not to explain fatal accidents, it is to prevent them.”

None of the three outlets named a successor, and none quoted Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on the resignation. Railway Gazette said Puente told Sánchez minutes before he spoke and pulled out of the lists for the general election it dated to Nov. 29.

Canadians were among those caught up in the crash. Canada News Media reported earlier that a Canadian was among the 69 dead and that six Canadians were hurt. Our earlier report on how the Renfe train hit the stopped Iryo train has the first details of the collision.

Canadians planning rail travel in Spain can check the government’s travel advice for Spain on travel.gc.ca. Euronews said Adif’s works council has agreed to push for a rail safety strike on Nov. 17, though it has not been formally called.

Via Euronews, Al Jazeera and Railway Gazette.

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