Spain’s Transport Minister, Óscar Puente, has resigned following two deadly train crashes within a year, including a collision last week that killed 69 people and injured more than 200.
Puente announced his decision six days after the latest crash, telling lawmakers in Madrid that a transport minister could not remain in office after two accidents of such severity in less than a year.
“I made the decision about my future in the first few minutes after the tragedy,” he said.
He added: “A transport minister in a country like Spain cannot remain in office after two accidents of this severity in less than a year, however different they may be and regardless of whether or not they bear direct responsibility for them.”
Authorities said last week’s collision involved a train crashing into a stationary train at high speed on a railway line connecting Madrid and Andalusia. The incident reportedly followed a combination of human and computer errors, while a safety system failure had halted rail traffic along the line.
Puente had earlier questioned how the train was allowed to proceed despite a red signal.
“There was a red signal prohibiting movement, yet the train was authorized to proceed,” he said last week. “It is a decision made under inexplicable circumstances.”
The latest crash followed another serious rail accident in January, when two high-speed trains collided head-on in Adamuz, killing at least 41 people. The crash was then Spain’s deadliest rail accident in more than a decade.
Puente’s resignation came after politicians and Spain’s transport workers’ union called for him to step down. On the night of last week’s collision, police clashed with hundreds of protesters outside the transport ministry headquarters. Some demonstrators carried placards demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
The announcement also comes three weeks before Spain’s general elections. Puente said he would not stand as a candidate.
Sánchez called the elections early following several corruption scandals, concerns over housing affordability and setbacks for his Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) in municipal elections.
The prime minister praised Puente’s decision, saying he had stepped aside “out of respect for the victims and the progressive project”.
“Politicians like him dignify our country and show us that not all of us are the same,” Sánchez wrote on social media. “While some only give lessons, others give everything.”
- CNN