Spanish Transport Minister resigns following fatal high-speed rail collision

Spain’s Transport Minister, Oscar Puente, has announced his resignation following a deadly train collision near the village of Urda on 28 October. The accident, which killed 69 people, involved a state-owned Renfe train striking a stationary private Iryo service. The crash occurred after a signalling failure on the Madrid-Seville line led controllers to manually authorise the Renfe train to proceed.

During a hearing before lawmakers, Mr Puente confirmed he would also withdraw his name from the ballot for the early general election scheduled for 29 November. The minister noted that he could not remain in office following two severe rail accidents in less than a year, referring to a similar collision in Andalusia last January that resulted in 46 fatalities.

Prior to resigning, Mr Puente outlined a series of safety reforms and a €30 million aid package for victims and their families. Proposed measures include a 40km/h speed limit during signalling failures and the introduction of an artificial intelligence agent to monitor communications between drivers and control centres to reduce human error. The government also plans to accelerate the rollout of the European Rail Traffic Management System.

The disaster has sparked criticism from unions and opposition parties. The train drivers' union, Semaf, and representatives from the infrastructure operator Adif have highlighted concerns regarding degraded safety systems and difficult working conditions for controllers. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez praised Mr Puente’s decision to step down, citing his sense of political responsibility.