Unions Demand Óscar Puente Resign Over Blame on Adif Controller

Spanish rail unions have turned on Transport Minister Óscar Puente after he singled out an Adif traffic controller in the Urda (Toledo) accident, which has left at least 69 people dead. Several organisations are now calling for his resignation.

The crash happened on 28 October, when an AVE hit an Iryo train stopped on the track. Both were travelling in the same direction on the Andalusian high-speed corridor, and the AVE was moving at between 160 and 200 km/h. Investigators point to a chain of errors.

The minister's remarks

At a press conference that evening, Puente called "inexplicable" the decision of the controller at Adif's Atocha control centre (CRC) to tell the AVE to proceed "normally" when signalling indicated it could not continue and an Iryo was stopped a few kilometres ahead. The Sindicato de Circulación de Ferroviaria (SCF) notes that the controller was acting because the LZB system had failed over a stretch of more than 60 kilometres.

Ana María Galisteo, SCF spokesperson, said the minister's statements "seem regrettable" to the union.

Leaked audios

That night, audios from the Atocha CRC were leaked to the press. They capture a conversation between the driver and the controller, who gives confusing information and at one point tells the AVE to proceed at "normal speed". SCF calls the recordings "self-interested", arguing they divert attention from the LZB failure. It adds that the employee's voice was not distorted, so he could be identified.

UGT rejected the leak and said it will investigate who was behind it. CCOO's rail sector leader, Pepa Páez, urged that the focus not fall on "the last link" without knowing the conditions he works under. SCF says it twice warned Adif of an alarming staff shortage.

CSIF and CCOO's rail section have both asked for Puente's resignation, accusing the ministry of using the worker as a scapegoat. Puente has rejected the idea: "My way of being responsible is to face up to it."

Echoes of Angrois

Unions see a parallel with the Angrois accident, where 80 people died. The train driver, Francisco Garzón, and Adif's safety director Andrés Cortabitarte were convicted, yet signage before the curve was found to be insufficient. In that case too, audios of the driver were leaked.