Spain: Spanish Transport Minister resigns after train accident
After the disaster with 69 dead, Madrid is drawing the first consequences - and is also promising the victims millions in aid. Then, in the evening, a surprising development.
Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente has unexpectedly resigned, just under a week after a train crash in Spain killed 69 people. He also announced he would not stand in the early general election on 29 November. The crash, near Urda, 130km south of Madrid, involved two high-speed trains, one operated by Renfe and the other by Iryo, and was the second major train accident in Spain in less than a year.
The government has approved a €30m aid package for victims and their families, and has announced measures to improve rail safety, including the introduction of new staff checks in control centres and the reduction of trains between Madrid and Sevilla until a new European train protection system, ERTMS, is operational.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
