Spain's Transport Minister Óscar Puente has resigned six days after a high-speed train collision near Urda, south of Madrid, killed at least 69 people and injured dozens more. Puente announced the decision in Congress at the end of a lengthy session in which he had outlined new rail safety measures and faced questions from the opposition.
In the session, Puente said: "A transport minister in a country like Spain cannot remain in office after two accidents of this seriousness in less than a year." He was referring to a January crash on the same line that left 46 people dead. He also said he was withdrawing his name from the lists for the early legislative elections set for 29 November.
The conservative People's Party and the far-right Vox had called for his resignation, as had some of the government's allies. The opposition argued that Puente should take responsibility for a rail system that many Spaniards now regard as unsafe. The opposition also criticised him for appearing to blame human error for the crash. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez praised Puente for having "faced up to the situation, provided answers and solutions, and then stepped aside."
The collision involved a Renfe train carrying 397 passengers, which struck a stationary Iryo train carrying 147 passengers. A reported computer failure in the automatic signalling system had forced trains to halt on the affected stretch. Leaked audio recordings published in Spanish media appear to show that the Renfe train was given clearance to move even though the Iryo train had stopped on the track about 25km ahead. Iryo said its carriages were "struck from behind" by the other train.