Spain’s transport minister, Oscar Puente, has resigned following last week’s deadly high-speed train crash that killed 69 people, one of the worst railway disasters in Europe this century.
Puente handed in his resignation on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, at the end of a lengthy hearing before lawmakers. He also withdrew his name from the lists for Spain’s early general election on 29 November.
The crash happened on Wednesday, 28 October, outside the village of Urda, about 130 kilometres south of Madrid, when a train operated by the state-owned company Renfe ploughed into the back of a stationary train belonging to the private operator Iryo. An automatic safety system failure had halted trains on a stretch of track, but a control centre authorised the Renfe service to resume its journey.
Puente had ruled out resigning several times since the accident. Announcing his decision, he said: “A transport minister in a country like Spain cannot remain in office after two accidents of such seriousness in less than a year, however different they may be, whether or not I bear direct responsibility.”
Earlier on Tuesday he had presented safety measures and a 30 million euro aid package for the families of those killed and the people injured. Another collision on the same Madrid-Seville line in Andalusia in January killed 46 people.
The crash and the earlier disaster have overshadowed campaigning for the 29 November ballot, in which Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is trailing in opinion polls.
Source: Channel News Asia — https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/spanish-transport-minister-offers-resignation-after-deadly-train-crash-6518011
