Daijiworld Media Network - Madrid
Madrid, Nov 4: Spain's Transport Minister Óscar Puente has announced his resignation, six days after a devastating high-speed train collision claimed 69 lives, bringing renewed attention to railway safety in the country.
Puente announced his decision on Tuesday after appearing before lawmakers for several hours to explain the circumstances surrounding the disaster.
Explaining his decision, he said he could not continue in office following two major train accidents within less than a year. He described the resignation as an act of political accountability and a gesture of empathy towards the victims and their families.
"A transport minister in a country like Spain cannot continue in his post after two accidents in less than a year. It's a question of political dignity, coherence and empathy with the victims," Puente told lawmakers.
The fatal collision occurred on October 28, when a high-speed train crashed into another train that had come to a halt on the tracks, killing 69 people. The accident has emerged as one of the deadliest incidents involving Spain's high-speed rail network in recent years.
According to the sequence of events outlined in the report, the incident followed a disruption in a communication system essential to railway safety on the Madrid-Seville route. Following the disruption, central controllers in Madrid assumed control of operations and authorised one of the trains to proceed, despite another train being stationary ahead. The sequence ultimately led to the deadly collision.
The October disaster was the second major railway accident in Spain this year. In January, another train accident on the Madrid-Seville route claimed 46 lives when a train derailed and struck another train travelling in the opposite direction. The investigation into that accident is still underway.
The two tragedies have intensified concerns over railway safety standards, infrastructure reliability and the effectiveness of existing safety mechanisms across the country's high-speed rail network.
Before announcing his resignation, Puente also outlined additional measures proposed to strengthen railway safety. These include improving working conditions at railway control centres and accelerating the implementation of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS).
The system is designed to improve railway signalling, train supervision and operational safety by strengthening coordination between trains and control centres.
Spain operates the world's second-largest high-speed rail network after China. The network, which has been considered a major infrastructure achievement, had gone more than three decades without a fatal accident of this nature.
The two deadly incidents within a year have now placed the country's railway safety framework under renewed scrutiny.