At the time of the report, the Urda crash had left 69 people dead and more than 100 injured. The collision occurred shortly before 9 a.m. on 28 October 2026 near Urda, Toledo, on the Madrid-Seville high-speed line. A train struck a convoy stopped ahead; reporting identified the services as a Renfe AVE and an Iryo train. Casualty figures changed during the response: the Interior Ministry briefly reported 74 deaths before the president’s office and Transport Ministry revised the official toll to 69. A later account reported 108 injured, including 15 in very serious condition.
The Partido Popular filed its request on 29 October, asking Pedro Sánchez to explain his handling of the disaster and the railway system before the Permanent Deputation of Congress. The party argued that responsibility reaches beyond Transport Minister Óscar Puente. It said Sánchez appointed and continues to support him, and accused successive ministers, including Ábalos and Puente, of overseeing deficient management of Spain’s railways.
The PP tied that criticism to repeated incidents across the network. It cited the crashes at Adamuz and Gelida, then separately pointed to Urda. The party said the minister’s planned appearance before MPs would not be sufficient to address the political responsibility it assigns to the president. Puente was scheduled to appear before the Permanent Deputation on 3 November at 5 p.m.
The dispute over accountability follows earlier PP pressure over the crash. The account said the PP had not taken its case to court at that stage; Vox had filed two complaints against Puente and Adif executives. Meanwhile, the Commission for the Investigation of Rail Accidents (CIAF) was examining the crash, and the judicial inquiry was assigned to Investigating Court No. 2 in Orgaz, Toledo. The Guardia Civil questioned personnel connected to the Atocha control centre as investigators examined a possible signalling or control-system failure, along with the authorization for a train to proceed despite a reported safety failure. The cause remained under investigation.
