Spain Transport Minister Refuses to Resign After Deadly High‑Speed Train Crash
Transport minister Óscar Puente says he will stay in office while the government investigates the collision that killed at least 69 people.
Minister Declares He Will Remain in Post
Óscar Puente held a news conference in Madrid and said he has “nothing to hide,” reiterating the government’s promise to uncover the causes of the crash. He added, “My duty right now is not to talk about whether I should remain in my position, but to resolve the problem.”
Calls for Resignation
Since the collision, Puente has faced demands to resign from political rivals, a trade union and demonstrators who gathered outside the transport ministry on Wednesday night.
Details of the Collision
Dozens were killed and many more injured when a state‑operated Renfe high‑speed train struck the rear of a stationary Iryo train near the town of Urda in central Toledo province on Wednesday morning.
At least 69 people have died.
A preliminary report released late on Thursday found the Renfe train was travelling between 160 km/h (99.4 mph) and 200 km/h at impact.
The front carriage of the moving train became embedded in the tail of the stationary train.
Government Reaction
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said earlier on Friday that public trust in Spain’s high‑speed rail network had been broken and called the incident “unacceptable,” noting it was the second similar tragedy within a year.
The January crash on the same Madrid‑Seville route killed 46 people in Adamuz, southern Spain. Wednesday’s accident is described as one of the worst rail disasters in Europe’s modern history and Spain’s worst since 2013.
Technical Findings
Puente explained that a computer failure at about 08:30 that morning caused an initial halt of six moving trains, including the two that later collided.
Leaked audio recordings published in Spanish media show conversations between train drivers and the control centre minutes before the crash. The recordings indicate that one high‑speed train received clearance to move while another train was stalled about 25 km (15 miles) ahead.
Puente called the decision to allow the trains to move without speed restrictions “inexplicable.”
Political Commentary
Alberto Ibáñez, a congressman for the left‑wing Sumar platform, described the leaking of the recordings as “despicable” on X.
Irene Montero, the prime‑ministerial candidate for the left‑wing Podemos party, argued that responsibility should not be placed on a single worker and noted that train drivers and experts have warned against the liberalisation of the railway sector for years.
Next Steps
The transport ministry says its priority is to answer the many unanswered questions and to restore confidence in the rail system.
