Spain rail crash: minister refuses to resign as investigators cite 160-200km/h impact
Transport minister Óscar Puente stays on after Spain's worst rail disaster since 2013 killed at least 69, as a preliminary report puts the Renfe train at 160–200km/h.
The story in focus
Spain's transport minister, Óscar Puente, said he will not resign over the high-speed rail collision near Urda that killed at least 69 people. A preliminary investigators' report found the Renfe train was travelling between 160km/h and 200km/h when it struck a stationary Iryo train.
- At least 69 people died when a state-operated Renfe high-speed train hit the back of a stationary Iryo train near Urda in Toledo province on Wednesday morning.
- A preliminary transport investigators' report released late on Thursday said the Renfe train was travelling between 160km/h and 200km/h at impact.
- Puente said a computer failure around 08:30 halted six moving trains, including the two that later collided.
- Leaked recordings published in Spanish media appear to show a train cleared to move while another had stalled about 25km ahead.
- Puente said he would not resign, citing the prime minister's request, and said any human error found would be acted on.
What investigators have established
A preliminary report by transport investigators, released late on Thursday, found the Renfe train was moving at between 160km/h and 200km/h when it struck the rear of the stationary Iryo service, embedding its front carriage in the other train's tail. The collision occurred near Urda, in the central province of Toledo, on Wednesday morning.
Puente said a computer failure at about 08:30 that morning prompted the initial halt of six moving trains, including the two that subsequently collided. He described the decision to restart the trains without speed restrictions as inexplicable. Audio recordings published in Spanish media appear to show a control centre clearing one high-speed train to move while another had stalled on the track about 25km ahead.
Political pressure and the safety record
Puente, facing resignation calls from political rivals, the CSIF trade union and demonstrators outside the transport ministry, said he had nothing to hide and would not use any worker as a shield. He said the investigation would proceed question by question and that human error, if established, would be acted on.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said public trust in the high-speed network had been broken and called a second similar tragedy within a year unacceptable. A January collision on the same Madrid-Seville route at Adamuz killed 46 people. The crash is Spain's worst since 2013. The country is observing three days of mourning.
What did the preliminary report say about the Renfe train's speed at the moment of collision?
Investigators found the Renfe train was travelling between 160km/h and 200km/h when it hit the rear of the stationary Iryo train near Urda, causing its front carriage to become embedded in the other train's tail.
Sources & further reading
- Spain transport minister says he won't resign over high-speed rail disaster ↗BBC News
- Battle lines redrawn in Spain’s snap election after latest train disaster ↗The Guardian
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