Follow-Up: Spain's Transport Minister Puente Resigns over High-Speed Train Crash: Says He Cannot Stay after Two Fatal Accidents in a Year
Spain's Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, announced his resignation on November 3 after an hours-long appearance before the Permanent Deputation of the Congress of Deputies in Madrid. On October 28, a high-speed train slammed into another train stopped on the tracks near Urda, in the central province of Toledo, killing 69 people and injuring around 200. It was Spain's second fatal high-speed rail crash this year.
"A transport minister in a country like Spain cannot remain in office after two accidents of this seriousness in less than a year," Puente told lawmakers at the end of his appearance. He said he had decided to resign within minutes of learning of the crash, but had stayed on to oversee the emergency response, get the preliminary investigation under way, and put in place an aid package for victims and new rail safety measures. He also said he would not stand as a candidate in the early parliamentary election called for November 29.
In January, on the same Madrid-Seville high-speed line, a train derailed near Adamuz, in the southern province of Córdoba, and struck an oncoming train, killing 46 people. Puente told lawmakers that in the October 28 crash, the control centre run by Adif, Spain's state rail infrastructure manager, had allowed an AVE high-speed train to continue even though its LZB automatic safety system had failed. The train travelled about 25 kilometres at more than 160 kilometres per hour before hitting a stationary train operated by the private company Iryo.
Under the measures Puente announced earlier on Tuesday, services on the Madrid-Seville line will be reduced until the Railway Safety Agency reviews the line's safety system and the delayed rollout of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) is completed. They also include a 40 km/h speed limit when a driver must rely on sighting obstacles ahead after a signalling failure, and more staff and better conditions in rail control centres. The works council at Adif has agreed to push for a strike on November 17 to demand better rail safety, though the strike has not yet been formally called.
Source: Reuters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：西班牙交通与可持续出行大臣 Óscar Puente（资料图）。照片：Pool Moncloa/José Manuel Álvarez，经 Wikimedia Commons，署名授权。 / Photo: Spain's Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente (file photo). Pool Moncloa/José Manuel Álvarez, via Wikimedia Commons, attribution license.
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