Spain's Transport Minister Oscar Puente has said he will not resign after a high-speed train collision on the line south from Madrid killed 69 people, according to the BBC. The crash happened near Toledo, and the formal investigation has only just been launched.
Puente blamed "human error" and said a control centre instructed a stalled train to restart and advance at up to 160 km/h, even though a second train was stuck on the line ahead. Puente said audio recordings and control-room screens showed the controllers could see the danger. He said the advancing train was never ordered to stop. He called remaining in office his "duty."
Puente also rejected claims of chronic underinvestment in infrastructure. He said Spain's LZB signalling system is not outdated, noting Germany and Austria use the same system. He said the system failed 170 times this year, which he described as normal and around the EU average.
The opposition People's Party has called for his resignation. The crash follows a collision near Adamuz, near Cordoba, in January that killed 46 people. An investigation into that crash is still open, and initial reports suggested a crack in the rails.
Pollster Paco Camas of Ipsos said the accidents could erode public trust in railways and institutions. Prof Pablo Simon of Carlos III University said Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's Socialist government has lost control of the campaign agenda ahead of the snap general election he called. Simon said recent polls had shown the centre-right PP leading and forming a majority with the far-right Vox in most simulations.