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Madrid protesters demand transport minister’s resignation after Toledo crash
More than 1,000 people gathered outside Spain’s Transport Ministry in Madrid, demanding the resignation of Minister Óscar Puente after a high-speed train collision that killed 68 people. Police dispersed the protest using batons and pepper spray.
The crash on the Madrid–Seville line, which killed 68 people, sparked a mass protest in the Spanish capital. On Wednesday evening, more than 1,000 people, according to Europa Press, gathered outside the Transport Ministry and demanded the resignation of Minister Óscar Puente.
What happened near Toledo
On the morning of October 28, an AVE train operated by Renfe collided between Urda and Los Yébenes in Toledo province with an Iryo train that was stopped on the tracks. Puente said that at around 8:30 a.m., an LZB system failure occurred along a stretch of about 63 kilometers, communications failed on several computers, and the infrastructure operator Adif’s control center then took over traffic management and authorized one of the trains to continue.
Slogans against the minister and prime minister
Protesters chanted, “No more deaths on our tracks” and “Óscar Puente, minister of death,” as well as slogans against Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The protest was called by a trade union and youth organizations, and members of the far-right Vox party also took part.
Police used batons and gas
At around 8:30 p.m. local time, after protesters threw flares and various objects at police, law enforcement used batons, pepper spray and tear gas. Smoke spread through nearby streets, while a helicopter circled over the area. The protest was dispersed at approximately 9:30 p.m.
Puente has no plans to resign
The minister ruled out resigning. “We are completely devastated,” Puente said. The CSIF public-sector union, by contrast, called for his resignation and accused the minister of making the Adif employee responsible for traffic control a “scapegoat,” even though the investigation had only just begun. The Vox party filed a complaint against Adif’s leadership under the law on negligent homicide.
Spain has declared three days of national mourning through October 31. This is the country’s second major accident on high-speed rail lines this year: 45 people were killed near Adamuz in January.
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