Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente resigned and withdrew from the upcoming general election candidate list following a fatal train collision that killed 69 people. Although he initially pledged to remain in office to restore public confidence in the high-speed rail network, he stepped down after a parliamentary hearing. The accident occurred when a state-operated Renfe train struck a stationary private Iryo train due to a failure in the automatic safety system and subsequent authorization by a control center. In response, the government proposed new software using artificial intelligence to detect anomalies and require dual confirmation for manual decisions during system failures. Critics, including labor unions and the right-wing opposition, argued that the minister previously shifted blame solely onto individual operators rather than addressing broader issues such as underinvestment in maintenance and deteriorating working conditions.
Bias read (Center): The article maintains neutrality by balancing the minister's stated actions against specific criticisms from both the right-wing opposition and labor unions regarding systemic failures.




