Spain’s Transport Minister Oscar Puente resigned on the night of Nov. 3, six days after a high-speed train collision near Urda on the Madrid-Seville line killed 69 people. It was the second deadly crash on the line this year. The Oscar Puente resignation comes weeks before a snap general election on Nov. 29.
Puente announced his decision after a four-hour grilling by a caretaker parliamentary body, according to the Straits Times. He said his decision was driven by "political dignity" and that a transport minister "cannot remain in office" after two accidents of this seriousness in less than a year, according to MercoPress.
The Oct. 28 collision involved a Renfe AVE train that ran into the back of a stationary Iryo train after a signalling failure, according to MercoPress. The speed of the Renfe train has been estimated at between 60 and 200 km/h, but that figure is an estimate only.
The crash followed a January high-speed derailment at Adamuz, in Cordoba, on the same line, which killed 46 people. Combined, the two crashes have killed 115 people.
Opposition parties and some government allies had called for Puente to resign. In February, a Senate motion demanded his resignation after a fatal crash on the same line.
Puente is withdrawing from the Socialist Party’s lists for the Nov. 29 election, according to MercoPress. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said his deputy, Carlos Cuerpo, who is also economy minister, will provisionally run the Transport Ministry, according to the Straits Times. Puente’s resignation takes effect only once it is published in the official state gazette.
Sanchez announced a 30-million-euro aid package for victims. According to Al Jazeera, families will receive 72,121 euros in direct aid plus an equal amount in advance compensation. No other outlet has confirmed these compensation figures.
Puente became transport minister in November 2023.
Several key points remain unresolved. Renfe, Iryo and the Railway Safety Agency have not responded to published control-centre recordings, and the Spanish press reported recordings of controller-driver conversations that these sources have not independently verified. The cause of the crash has not been established. Critics have said Puente blamed human error to avoid responsibility, an claim that remains unverified. Some of the coverage was available only in excerpts, and no official government statement beyond Sanchez’s remarks was included.
The Railway Safety Agency is reviewing the line’s safety system. An AI-based safety agent is also due to be introduced, though no timeline was given. Cuerpo will oversee the ministry until a replacement is in place, and voters will go to the polls on Nov. 29.
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This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.