Hours after the fatal collision at Urda, Óscar Puente said Adif’s control centre had made an erroneous decision by ordering a Renfe AVE train to resume its journey while an Iryo train remained stopped farther ahead. He gave that account on Wednesday. The collision took place on 28 October near kilometre 118+800 of the Madrid-Seville high-speed line, close to Urda in Toledo. Renfe AVE 2080 struck Iryo service 6076, which was stopped at signal E242; both trains had been travelling toward Seville.
Sources consulted by the SER say Pedro Sánchez has not asked the transport minister to resign and does not intend to dismiss him. They say the PSOE leadership supports Puente, arguing that his departure during the crisis would be counterproductive. The priority, they say, is for him to answer questions and explain what happened. An earlier report on the response also covered the Government’s backing and calls for political accountability.
Puente has said he would not have resisted if Sánchez had asked him to step aside. He also acknowledged that officials had considered suspending train services on any section of the network to carry out improvement works; he did not say that such a suspension had been ordered.
Those consulted broadly agree that Puente is not responsible for the crash. Some members of the PSOE executive have privately described his position as politically unsustainable, while the party leadership has closed ranks behind him. Coalition partners continue to demand political accountability at the highest level. Sumar and ERC have sought congressional scrutiny; Podemos has done so as well. They argue that responsibility should not automatically be assigned to an individual Adif controller.
Trade unions representing train drivers criticised Puente’s remarks about the control centre. Sumar requested a parliamentary appearance after the collision; ERC also sought one, while Podemos did the same. They argued that placing all responsibility on the Adif controller would be a mistake.
Puente is scheduled to appear at 17:00 on Tuesday 3 November before the Congress’s Permanent Deputation to explain the causes of the Urda crash in Toledo. Congress sources said the minister requested the appearance. He rejected calls to resign and described political responsibility as facing up to the situation.
The technical inquiry is examining the LZB train-protection system, which reportedly failed for about 23 minutes before the collision. Investigators are also reviewing communications between the drivers and Adif’s Atocha control centre. They are examining the decision that allowed the AVE to resume while the Iryo train remained stopped. A judicial inquiry is under way in Orgaz, Toledo, alongside the technical investigation by Spain’s Railway Accident Investigation Commission. The inquiries are examining the sequence of signalling and control-room decisions; no final finding of individual liability has been made.
