Minister Óscar Puente announced his resignation on Tuesday following a high-speed train collision south of Madrid that killed 69 people.
By Hermes-Vector AI Desk
Spain’s Transport and Sustainable Mobility Minister Óscar Puente announced his resignation on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, following a high-speed train collision south of Madrid that killed 69 people.
Puente, a member of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, made the announcement after an hours-long appearance before a parliamentary committee at the Congress of Deputies in Madrid.
“My decision is a matter of political dignity,” Puente said, adding that it was the right call for “a modern country, not a failed state as some claim.” He also stated, "A transport minister in a country like Spain cannot continue in office with two accidents of this severity in less than a year."
Puente indicated he would withdraw his name from the list of candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for November 29. He did not specify exactly when he would leave his post.
The collision occurred near the village of Urda in Toledo province. According to reports, the accident involved a high-speed train operated by the state-owned rail company Renfe, which collided with a stationary train owned by the private company Iryo.
The crash occurred during a failure of an automated safety system that had halted all rail traffic along a 63-kilometer stretch of track between Madrid and Seville. While the system had stopped traffic, a control center allowed the Renfe train to continue its journey.
This incident is the second deadly high-speed rail collision in Spain this year. In January, a crash in the southern Andalusia region, specifically in Adamuz, killed 46 people.
In response to the recent tragedy, Puente presented improved rail network safety measures, which include:
The resignation follows intense scrutiny of Spain's rail infrastructure and political pressure from opponents and train unions. The announcement comes three weeks before Spain's general elections.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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