Spain's transport minister resigns days after high-speed rail collision that killed 69

Óscar Puente, Spain's transport minister, said Tuesday he is leaving his post, less than a week after a high-speed rail collision south of Madrid left 69 people dead, PBS NewsHour reported in an Associated Press story. BBC News put the death toll at no fewer than 69 and said dozens were hurt.

The BBC said Puente revealed his decision to Congress following a lengthy hearing in which opposition lawmakers pressed him on the disaster and he presented new rail safety steps.

"A transport minister in a country like Spain cannot remain in office after two accidents of this seriousness in less than a year," Puente said, according to both outlets. He also told lawmakers he would drop out as a candidate in the snap general election scheduled for 29 November, the BBC reported.

PBS NewsHour reported that Puente said he settled on resigning right after the collision but kept the choice to himself at the time. Only a few days earlier, he had indicated he would remain, the BBC noted, and his departure caught many off guard.

According to the BBC, the 28 October crash happened close to the town of Urda, on the route linking Madrid and Seville. A train belonging to state-run Renfe, holding 397 passengers, ran into the back of a halted train from private operator Iryo, which had 147 people on board, the BBC said.

Both outlets tied the collision to a breakdown in the line's signalling and communications. PBS NewsHour said controllers in Madrid assumed control and let the Renfe train move forward although the Iryo train sat on the track ahead. The BBC cited leaked recordings, released by Spanish media, that seem to capture a controller telling the Renfe driver to go on at normal speed while the Iryo driver said the train was unable to start.

The disaster was the second fatal accident on that route this year. In January, 46 people died when a train came off the rails farther south and hit an oncoming train; investigators are still examining that case, according to PBS NewsHour.

Per the BBC, the conservative People's Party and the far-right Vox, along with some allies of the government, had demanded that Puente step down, and critics said he tried to pin the crash on human error to avoid responsibility. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez commended Puente, saying he left "Out of dignity. Of his own accord. Out of respect for the victims," the BBC reported.

PBS NewsHour noted that Spain's high-speed network ranks second in size globally, behind China's, and recorded no fatal crashes in more than 30 years of operation until this year. Earlier Tuesday, Puente outlined steps such as improving working conditions at control centers and speeding up adoption of the European Rail Traffic Management System, the outlet said.

Compiled by True News from reporting by PBS NewsHour and BBC News. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/738