Train accident in Toledo: last minute live | Óscar Puente rules out resigning: “My way of being responsible is to show my face”

The Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, has ruled out resigning after the train accident in Urda (Toledo). He has admitted that the pressure is strong, but emphasizes that his “way of assuming responsibility is to show his face.” “My obligation is to resolve the problem and offer explanations,” he said in an appearance at the Ministry in which he revealed that the LZB safety system, which fell causing the accident, has failed 170 times this year, “within European normality.” Furthermore, he explained that the AVE that collided with the Iryo train that was stopped in Urda encountered a green traffic light before the collision, since the Iryo had been given the green light to leave, but it did not do so.

This morning, the PP has openly asked for his resignation for the first time, as has been done by the PP spokesperson, Ester Muñoz, who "should not arrive" at Tuesday's appearance in Congress. “If they do not resign, we will resign them at the polls,” stated the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijoo. In the morning, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, admitted that “confidence in the high-speed system is broken” and that it is now the Government's job not only to investigate the causes of the accident but also “to offer solutions so that a tragedy like this is not repeated.”

The leader of the Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has this Friday directly accused the Government of being responsible for the deaths of the two train accidents this year in Adamuz and Urda. “46 people have died due to poor maintenance by the Government in Adamuz, and at least 69 in Toledo because it did not renew an obsolete security system when it should have done so,” he stated.

The Frente Amplio candidate, Ada Colau, calls for the resignation of the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, after the Urda train accident. The former mayor of Barcelona assured this Friday in the Catalan capital that her party has transferred the petition to La Moncloa this morning because she considers it essential that political responsibilities be assumed.

The Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, has admitted that he is considering closing the Madrid-Barcelona line to traffic for the duration of the remodeling process, the date of which has not yet been set. “Right now it is one of the things that we are evaluating, but not only for a security issue, but for multiple reasons,” said Puente.