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'A matter of political dignity': Spain's transport minister quits over Urda rail disaster
Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente resigned on Tuesday, six days after two high-speed trains collided near Urda in Toledo province, killing 69 people. Puente said no transport minister could stay on after two deadly crashes in nine months, and laid out a chain of signaling and control-room failures behind the disaster.
Spain's Transport Minister Óscar Puente announced his resignation on Tuesday, telling lawmakers he could not remain in office after the Oct. 28 collision of two high-speed trains near the town of Urda, in Toledo province, that killed 69 people. Puente made the announcement at the end of an appearance before the permanent committee of the Congress of Deputies, saying he had informed Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez only minutes earlier.
"I made the decision about my future in the first minutes after the tragedy," Puente said, calling his departure "a matter of political dignity, consistency and empathy with the victims." Citing the January crash at Adamuz and now Urda, he said a transport minister could not survive two deadly disasters in less than a year. He also said he would not stand on the Socialist party's lists in the Nov. 29 general election.
How the crash happened
Puente walked lawmakers through the failures that preceded the collision. The line's LZB signaling system went down because of what he described as a communication failure between three computers. A stationary train run by private operator Iryo reported that it could not restart, but "the center received the message and took no action," he said. At 8:36 a.m., the control center cleared a state-run Renfe AVE train to proceed at normal speed rather than on sight, and it slammed into the rear of the Iryo train.
"I'm not going to hide behind anyone," Puente said, pledging full cooperation with a judicial investigation that is being conducted under secrecy. Rail infrastructure manager Adif, Renfe and Iryo are preparing a separate technical report.
'116 deaths too late'
The resignation did little to calm the opposition. Ester Muñoz, spokeswoman for the conservative Popular Party, said it came "116 deaths too late," referring to the victims of both crashes, while Vox's Pepa Millán accused the government of treating human life as worthless. Even the Socialists' coalition partner Sumar and the Basque Nationalist Party had urged Puente to step down. Sánchez praised the resignation as a dignified gesture. Last week, Puente had refused to quit and said he retained the prime minister's full confidence.
Photos: Euronews, Wikimedia Commons (file)
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