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Oscar Puente also withdrew his name from the list of candidates for the general election scheduled for November 29.
Spain’s Transport Minister Oscar Puente reacts during a press conference at the Transport ministry in Madrid on October 30. (AFP photo)
Spain’s Transport Minister Oscar Puente resigned on Tuesday following a train crash that killed 69 people last week, marking one of Europe’s deadliest railway disasters this century.
Puente also withdrew his name from the list of candidates for the general election scheduled for November 29, as the disaster put the country’s railway safety record under renewed scrutiny.
His resignation comes after mounting criticism of the government’s handling of the crash and demands from opposition parties for him to step down.
Deadly Collision Raises Safety Concerns
The accident occurred last Wednesday near the village of Urda, around 130 km south of Madrid, when a train operated by state-owned Renfe crashed into the rear of a stationary train belonging to private operator Iryo.
The failure of an automatic safety system had halted trains along a 63-km stretch of track. However, a control centre subsequently authorised the Renfe train to resume its journey.
The crash was the second major railway disaster in Spain this year. Another collision in the southern region of Andalusia in January killed 46 people on the key Madrid-Seville line.
Govt Promises Railway Safety Reforms
Before his resignation, Puente had pledged to work “tirelessly” to restore public confidence in Spain’s high-speed rail network, the world’s second largest.
He had announced plans to introduce software that would automatically alert control centres to irregularities in train movements. An artificial intelligence system would also help monitor operations and reduce the risk of human error.
Under the proposed changes, a second operator would have to approve decisions taken when automatic safety systems were not working.
Opposition, Unions Demand Accountability
Puente faced mounting pressure from right-wing opposition parties and railway unions, which questioned safety standards and working conditions across the network.
The train drivers’ union Semaf has called strikes for November 10 and 12, citing worsening working conditions and the use of faulty or degraded safety systems.
Critics have also argued that investment in railway maintenance has failed to keep pace with rising passenger numbers since Spain opened its rail network to private operators in 2021.
The government had also announced a 30-million-euro aid package for the families of those killed and injured in last week’s crash.
(With inputs from AFP)
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Ask News18Oscar Puente resigned following a deadly train crash near Urda that killed 69 people, amid mounting criticism of the government’s handling of the disaster and demands for accountability from opposition parties and railway unions. He also withdrew from the candidate list for the upcoming general election scheduled for November 29.
Ask News18November 04, 2026, 02:06 IST
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