The PP had not expected Óscar Puente to resign. After the transport minister announced his departure over the Urda rail tragedy, Alberto Núñez Feijóo turned the pressure onto Pedro Sánchez, arguing that the prime minister should also face political responsibility. The 28 October collision near Urda, about 130 kilometres south of Madrid, killed 69 people when a state-owned Renfe train struck the rear of a stationary train operated by private company Iryo. It was Spain’s second deadly high-speed rail accident of 2026. The two crashes, including the earlier disaster at Adamuz, killed 115 people in total.
In an interview with Antena 3, Feijóo criticised the timing and manner of Puente’s departure. The minister announced his resignation on 3 November, after a lengthy appearance before the Permanent Deputation of Congress. He had denied at a press conference after a Council of Ministers meeting that he would step down. Feijóo called the departure undignified and said the resignation had come late. Puente announced it at the end of his parliamentary appearance, after opposition parties and government allies had pressed him to accept responsibility for two rail disasters during his tenure. He said he had decided his future within minutes of learning of the Urda crash but stayed in office until emergency operations were under way and initial safety measures had been taken. Preliminary investigations and victim compensation were also under way. The government announced an emergency aid package for victims and new rail-safety measures on 3 November.
Puente also withdrew his candidacy for the early legislative election scheduled for 29 November. His resignation was not immediately legally effective; it required publication in Spain’s official state gazette. On 4 November, Sánchez designated Deputy Prime Minister Carlos Cuerpo to provisionally oversee the Transport Ministry until Puente’s formal departure and a permanent appointment.
The move has complicated the PP’s argument that the government has failed to accept political responsibility. It has also brought renewed scrutiny of the PP’s handling of earlier tragedies while in office, including the Angrois train crash, which killed 80 people, and the Valencia floods, which claimed 234 lives. Feijóo has rejected comparisons between those cases and Urda, calling them irrational.
On Angrois, which happened while Feijóo led the Xunta de Galicia, he argued that the PSOE had responsibility for the railway line, infrastructure and overhead equipment in the weeks before the election. Ana Pastor, the PP’s Fomento minister at the time, did not resign. According to Feijóo, José Blanco was minister when the works were completed.
He also pointed to the departure of the Generalitat’s emergency-services councillor after the Valencia floods. Salomé Pradas was dismissed by Carlos Mazón 24 days after the flooding. Mazón resigned a year later, following victims’ protests at the state funeral.
Feijóo and Vox leader Santiago Abascal have also clashed over whether people should travel by train after two accidents on Spain’s high-speed network. Feijóo said he would use a train when necessary, warning that telling people to avoid rail travel would deepen distrust in infrastructure. He acknowledged that the railway was at its worst point. When another mode of transport is available, he said, it could be preferable. Abascal called it irresponsible to urge people to board the AVE and compared Feijóo with Fraga’s 1966 swim at Palomares after a nuclear accident.
Separately, Feijóo has pledged to present a budget proposal in spring 2027 if the PP wins the 29 November election. He expects a new government to take office in the first or second month of next year. The budget would apply retroactively to 2027, with rail-network maintenance a priority.
He says he would then work on the 2028 budget over the summer and submit it in September. Feijóo cited his previous experience preparing budgets as a reason for voters to choose the PP over Vox.
