Politics · 2026-11-04 · Morning briefing
Spain's transport minister resigns after train crash kills 69
Oscar Puente, Spain's transport minister, announced his resignation following the country's second deadly train crash in less than a year. The most recent incident, on October 28th near the town of Urda, killed 69 people. It follows a derailment in January which killed 46 people.
The collision near Urda occurred after a signalling failure automatically stopped several trains; a high-speed Renfe train was nonetheless permitted to proceed, striking a stationary Iryo train. Safety concerns were compounded on Tuesday when a driver was injured in a separate collision near Barcelona. Railway unions have now called a national strike over safety for November 17th.
Mr Puente stated he made the decision to step down "in the very first minutes" after learning of the October 28th disaster. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez praised the move on social media, writing that politicians like Mr Puente "bring honour to our country and show us that we are not all the same."
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- Spanish transport minister resigns after two deadly train crashes in one year
- Spain’s Transport Minister Resigns After Deadly Rail Crash
- Spain's transport minister resigns six days after deadly high-speed train crash kills 69
- Spain's transport minister Oscar Puente resigns after train crash killed 69 people
- Spanish transport minister resigns after deadly train crash
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