MADRID, Spain, Nov. 4, 2026 — Spain's transport minister, Óscar Puente, resigned Tuesday over last week's high-speed train crash near the village of Urda that killed 69 people, The Guardian and Euronews reported. About 200 people were injured, Euronews reported.

Puente had ruled out resigning several times since the crash, The Guardian reported. He announced his decision at the end of a long hearing before the Permanent Deputation of the Congress of Deputies, the standing committee that acts for Spain's lower house when it isn't in full session.

"I wish to inform you that I am not only stepping down from my position as minister of transport, but that I am also withdrawing my name from the lists for the early legislative elections on 29 November," Puente said, according to The Guardian.

Puente, a member of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's Socialist party, said stepping down was "good for the country and for democracy," Euronews reported. "It is not true that all politicians are the same," he said. He closed his remarks with: "I trust my country will live up to the occasion. I have tried to live up to it. Farewell."

What caused the crash

The crash happened Oct. 28 when a train run by state-owned Renfe slammed into the back of a stopped train run by the private operator Iryo outside Urda, about 80 miles south of Madrid, The Guardian reported. Launchpad covered the crash that day.

Puente told lawmakers that the control center run by Adif, Spain's state-owned rail infrastructure manager, let the high-speed AVE train keep going even though its LZB automatic safety system had failed, Euronews reported. The train then traveled about 25 kilometers (about 15 miles) at more than 160 km/h (about 100 mph) before the collision.

The failure of the automatic safety system had halted all trains on a 39-mile stretch of track, but a control center still authorized the Renfe train to resume, The Guardian reported.

Pressure from all sides

The conservative People's Party and the far-right Vox party had demanded Puente's resignation, as had two parties the Sánchez government has relied on for votes, the Basque Nationalist Party and Catalan pro-independence party Junts, Euronews reported. Opposition parties and unions criticized him for appearing to put all the blame on one control center operator, The Guardian reported.

People's Party spokesperson Ester Muñoz said the minister's job "is not to explain fatal accidents, it is to prevent them," Euronews reported.

During the hearing, Puente defended the Madrid-Seville high-speed line, where the crash happened. "It is neither an abandoned nor a forgotten piece of infrastructure," he said, pointing to a €780 million renewal plan, Euronews reported.

What he announced before leaving

Earlier Tuesday, Puente announced:

  • software for control centers that issues automatic alerts and helps spot traffic anomalies, with an AI agent overseeing the system to "minimise the possibility of human error";
  • a rule that a second operator must confirm any decision a control center operator makes while the automatic safety system is down;
  • changes to control center operators' working conditions, including breaks and fatigue monitoring; and
  • a €30 million (about £25 million) aid package for the families of those killed and the people injured.

All four were reported by The Guardian.

Background

The Urda crash came nine months after a derailment near Adamuz, in Córdoba province, killed 46 people in January on the same Madrid-Seville line, Euronews and The Guardian reported. The Madrid-Seville route was Spain's first high-speed line when it opened in 1992. Critics say maintenance spending hasn't kept up with passenger growth since Spain opened its rail network to private companies in 2021, The Guardian reported.

What's next

The train drivers' union Semaf has called strikes at Renfe for Nov. 10 and 12, The Guardian reported, and Adif's works council has agreed to push for a strike on Nov. 17 over rail safety, though it hasn't formally been called, Euronews reported. Spain votes in an early general election on Nov. 29.

Sources: The Guardian, Nov. 3, 2026; Euronews, Nov. 3, 2026.

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