Spain's Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, has rejected calls for his resignation from opposition political forces, government allies, and trade unions following the tragic train accident near Urda. During a press conference covered by public broadcaster RTVE, the government official asserted his duty to remain at the helm to shed light on what happened and restore public confidence in the national infrastructure network.

During his remarks, Puente described a succession of human errors that occurred in the Atocha control center following the interruption of the LZB technological system. In particular, he noted the authorization to depart granted to a high-speed train at normal speed rather than on-sight running, despite the presence of a second train stopped further ahead and a signal mistakenly switched to green.

The minister also defended the reliability of the LZB safety system, specifying that its transmission issues are already anticipated by standard operating procedures. The transition to the new European ERTMS technology along the Madrid-Seville route is underway and is expected to become fully operational in the first months of next year, in accordance with EU directives established for train interoperability.

Finally, Puente expressed his intention to initiate a comprehensive review of the entire Spanish railway network. Among the various options under study is the complete suspension of rail traffic during maintenance works, a model applied in Germany that could be introduced experimentally on the corridor between Madrid and Calatayud to speed up interventions and increase safety levels.