Spain’s Transport Minister, Óscar Puente, has resigned following a devastating train collision that claimed at least 69 lives and left dozens injured, intensifying pressure on the government over railway safety and its handling of the disaster.
Puente announced his resignation on Tuesday evening after facing intense scrutiny from lawmakers during a lengthy parliamentary session concerning the October 28 collision near Urda, south of Madrid.
The crash occurred when a moving train struck the rear of a stationary train, triggering one of the deadliest railway disasters in modern European history and the country’s worst train accident since 2013.
Explaining his decision to leave office, Puente said the scale and frequency of the recent tragedies had made his continued stay in government untenable.
“A transport minister in a country like Spain cannot remain in office after two accidents of this seriousness in less than a year,” he stated.
The minister was referring to another fatal railway accident in January, which reportedly claimed 46 lives on the same line.
Beyond relinquishing his ministerial position, Puente also announced his withdrawal from the list of candidates for the forthcoming early legislative elections.
“I am not only stepping down from my position as minister of transport, but I am also withdrawing my name from the lists for the early legislative elections,” he said, describing the decision as an act of “political dignity”.
His resignation followed days of mounting pressure from opposition parties, particularly the conservative People’s Party (PP) and the far-right Vox, both of which had called for him to accept responsibility for the latest disaster.
The controversy also exposed divisions within the governing coalition, with some political allies questioning whether Puente could remain in office while public confidence in the country’s railway system continued to decline.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has acknowledged the growing public concern, admitting that confidence in the railway system was “broken”.
Meanwhile, opposition lawmakers criticised Puente over his earlier comments suggesting that human error could have contributed to the collision, accusing him of attempting to shift responsibility away from the government’s oversight of the railway network.
Although the minister had indicated days earlier that he intended to remain in office, his appearance before Congress on Tuesday became a critical moment in the growing political crisis.
During the parliamentary session, he outlined proposed measures to strengthen railway safety before facing further questions from lawmakers over the circumstances surrounding the collision.
The tragedy has also cast a shadow over the country’s political situation ahead of the November 29 early general elections, with the governing Socialist-led administration facing increasing criticism over its handling of the railway disaster.
With Puente’s departure, attention is now shifting towards his successor, the ongoing investigation into the collision and the measures the government will introduce to prevent further tragedies.