By Victoria Waldersee and Mireia Merino
MADRID, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Spain's transport minister, Oscar Puente, announced his resignation on Tuesday over last week's deadly train crash, the country's second this year, hours after laying out the government's emergency aid package for victims and new safety measures.
"A transport minister in a country like Spain cannot continue in office with two accidents of this severity in less than a year," he told lawmakers of the Permanent Deputation, a standing committee that sits when parliament is dissolved. He spoke nearly a week after the October 28 crash that killed 69 people near the town of Urda in central Spain.
His departure comes less than four weeks before an early parliamentary election that Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called for November 29, and after two deadly crashes on the same line this year.
Sanchez praised Puente in a post on X, thanking him for his work and saying the minister had put victims first and acted out of a sense of political responsibility.
Puente, who had previously ruled out resigning, said he had decided to step down within minutes of learning of the crash, but chose to remain in office until the immediate emergency response was under way, preliminary investigations had begun and the first measures to compensate victims and improve rail safety had been put in place.
Another train accident in January, involving the same companies on the same line, killed 46 people.
OCTOBER 28 TRAIN CRASH
Several trains were automatically stopped last Wednesday due to the failure of a signalling system on the Madrid-Seville line, after which central controllers in Madrid took over. The controllers authorised a train operated by state-owned Renfe to proceed, even though there was a stationary privately operated Iryo train ahead, according to Puente.
Investigators estimated an impact speed of 160 to 200 kph (100 to 125 mph).
EMERGENCY AID PACKAGE FOR VICTIMS
Under measures Puente announced earlier on Tuesday, services on the Madrid-Seville rail line will be reduced until the Railway Safety Agency reviews the line's safety system and the government completes the delayed rollout of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS).
The safety measures include a 40 kph (25 mph) speed limit when relying on a driver to spot obstacles ahead if a signal system fails, hiring more staff and improving conditions in rail control centres.
The leftist government also promised to double compulsory passenger insurance payouts for crash victims, speed up compensation payments and improve temporary incapacity cover.
In addition, in what Puente said would be a world first, the railway system will introduce an AI agent to "detect anomalies and monitor conversations" between train drivers and controllers to minimise the likelihood of human error.
"We are not aware of any other railway system that uses this type of mechanism or technology. We will be the first to go down this path," Puente said, adding that Spain would also create a real-time digital model of the network.
(Reporting by David Latona, Victoria Waldersee, Emma Pinedo and Mireia Merino in Madrid; Writing by Charlie Devereux; Editing by Andrei Khalip, Kevin Liffey and Matthew Lewis)
