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Edition 7 · Counting the Cost

Spain's transport minister resigns over the Urda crash

Óscar Puente, who said last week that resigning would be the easy way out, stepped down on Tuesday, saying no minister could stay after two crashes of this severity in less than a year.

Officials and emergency workers stand in a line on open ground near the crash site at Urda, beside a red Castilla-La Mancha emergency vehicle and a civil protection tent, on 29 October 2026.
Officials and emergency workers near the crash zone at Urda, Toledo, during the regional president's visit on 29 October 2026. Photo: D. Esteban González / JCCM, via Wikimedia Commons (resized) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

1 min read

Last Sunday Hindsight reported that 69 people had died when a high-speed train was cleared to run into another standing near Urda, south of Madrid, and that the transport minister, Óscar Puente, had refused to resign: "The easy thing for me is to leave," he had said.1

On Tuesday 3rd November he did leave. Announcing his resignation to a standing committee of Spain's parliament, he said: "A transport minister in a country like Spain cannot remain in office after two accidents of this severity in less than a year. Regardless of how different they may be, or whether or not he bears direct responsibility for them, this is a matter of political dignity, consistency, and empathy for the victims."2 He also withdrew as a candidate in the general election on 29th November.2

The two crashes, at Adamuz in January and at Urda in October, killed 46 and 69 people.3 The opposition Partido Popular's spokesperson, Ester Muñoz, said the resignation came "116 deaths too late".2 The government announced €30m of aid, including €72,121 for each bereaved family.3 On Friday the BBC reported that European prosecutors had begun investigating how EU funds meant for upgrading the line were spent.4 The investigators have not said the money's use had anything to do with the crash.