Spain’s transport minister, Oscar Puente, has resigned following two main practice crashes in lower than a yr, together with a latest collision that claimed 69 lives and left greater than 200 others injured.

News

By Linda Ikeji
5 November 2026, 9:28 am

Puente introduced his determination whereas addressing lawmakers on Tuesday, November 3, six days after the October 28 crash close to Urda, south of Madrid.

He mentioned he had determined to step down inside minutes of the most recent tragedy however remained in workplace to supervise the aftermath and introduce measures to forestall related incidents.

“A transport minister in a country like Spain cannot remain in office after two accidents of this severity in less than a year, however different they may be and regardless of whether or not they bear direct responsibility for them,” he instructed lawmakers.

He described his resignation as “a matter of political dignity, consistency and political empathy” however didn’t specify when he would formally depart workplace.

The October 28 collision occurred when a high-speed practice operated by state-owned Renfe crashed into the rear of a stationary Iryo practice on the Madrid-Andalusia line. More than 200 folks have been injured within the incident.

Authorities have attributed the crash to a mixture of human and laptop failures. Puente had earlier instructed lawmakers {that a} purple sign had prohibited motion, but the practice was authorised to proceed.

The outgoing minister additionally confirmed that he wouldn’t search a seat in Spain’s early common election scheduled for November 29.

His resignation comes amid public stress following the crash, with demonstrators calling for political accountability. However, commerce union representatives have questioned makes an attempt to put the blame totally on particular person staff, arguing that failures within the railway security system should even be investigated.