Spain's transport minister resigns, six days after train crash that killed 69

The BBC reported on the 3rd (local time) that Spain's Transport Minister resigned from his position six days after a train crash that killed 69 people.

Transport Minister Oscar Puente announced his intention to resign after reporting on the recent train collision incident and future measures to strengthen railway safety at the National Assembly on this day.

“It is impossible for a transport minister in a country like Spain to remain in office after two such serious accidents have occurred in less than a year,” Puente said.

This means that we are fully aware of our responsibility for another similar incident occurring nine months after an accident occurred on the same train line last January in which 46 people died.

He said, “Not only will I resign from my position as minister, but I will also remove my name from the list of candidates for the early general election.”

This accident occurred on the 28th of last month when a train traveling on the downbound line of the high-speed railway connecting Spain's capital Madrid and southern Andalusia collided with the rear of a stationary train, killing 69 people and injuring more than 100.

In Spain, which has Europe's largest high-speed rail network of about 4,000 km, there are constant criticisms that there are structural problems in railroad operation and safety management as railroad accidents typical of underdeveloped countries continue to occur.

In 2013, a high-speed train accident occurred near Santiago de Compostela in the northwest, killing 80 people and injuring 145.

After this accident, Spanish political circles, including the opposition party and some ruling party supporters, have called for Minister Fuente's resignation. The opposition party claimed that Minister Puente was avoiding responsibility by blaming this accident on human error.

Minister Puente emphasized that his decision was based on “political dignity.” Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez supported Minister Puente's decision, saying, "To preserve dignity. Of one's own will. Out of respect for the victims."

The BBC said that this accident occurred ahead of the Spanish general election on the 29th and predicted that Prime Minister Sánchez's plan to create a counter-pole through early general elections would be dealt a major blow by repeated disasters.

At the same time, he predicted that it would be impossible for Prime Minister Sánchez's ruling Social Labor Party (PSOE) to overturn the results of the opinion polls and win the election.