Abascal says he would not ride the AVE, while Feijóo says he would

A dispute over whether Spaniards should board the AVE high-speed train turned into a public split on 4 November 2026. Vox leader Santiago Abascal said he would not ride one out of responsibility, contradicting Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the PP leader, who said he would. The exchange follows the Urda and Adamuz rail accidents and has drawn in regional leaders, Madrid's mayor and the transport minister, who has since resigned.

Party leaders take opposite stances

Feijóo told La Sexta on Tuesday, 3 November, that he would take the AVE again if no other means of travel were open to him, arguing that a politician should not tell citizens the whole high-speed system is unsafe. In an Antena 3 interview he added a warning about the country's image:

“If I send the message that nobody should board, I am backing the discrediting of our country.”

Abascal answered on Onda Cero on Wednesday, 4 November, saying he lacks the data on the state of the network and would therefore act differently.

“For responsibility's sake, I would do the opposite of what Mr Feijóo does.”

He said telling people the system deserves their trust, when it does not, is the irresponsible course. He also likened boarding a train to bathing at Palomares, the Almería village where Manuel Fraga swam after the 1966 accident, and said he preferred prudence.

Moreno and Almeida step back from the AVE

Juan Manuel Moreno, president of Andalusia, was the first to question rail safety. On 29 October, a day after the Urda accident in Toledo that killed 69 people, he said he would not travel on the Madrid to Andalusia line until the whole route had been reviewed. In the same remarks he asked the government to cap prices of alternatives to the train while the line stays shut, a bill that PP, Vox and Junts had already voted down in Congress. Two days after the crash, Madrid mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida said he would not board an AVE either, saying the Madrid to Andalusia line has had the most problems. Transport minister Óscar Puente called Moreno's remarks profoundly irresponsible at a press conference after the Council of Ministers on Tuesday, and that same day he announced his resignation at the Diputación Permanente. He will not be on the PSOE lists for the general election of 29 November.

Audit, crash record and fear

Abascal said a full audit of the rail infrastructure should come first, including the investment needed in the coming years, so the causes of the Adamuz and Urda accidents can be established. He accused the government of placing people without technical training in technical posts, naming Ábalos and Koldo, who he said had held a post at ADIF. Journalist José Enrique Monrosi, speaking on LaSexta, said it was deeply irresponsible for politicians to send a generalised message of fear about trains. He noted that the Madrid to Seville line had recorded no accident in 35 years, but that 115 people had died in 10 months, and he expected the impact to be greater when that line reopens to returning passengers.

Abascal's wider attack and a Milei meeting

Abascal tied the minister's exit to Pedro Sánchez, saying the only important thing was that Sánchez step down, and accused the prime minister of hiding behind Puente to avoid responsibility. He listed Cerdán, Ábalos, Koldo, the attorney general, the Madrid government delegate and the Ceuta government delegate among people involved in corruption cases, which he said Sánchez always uses as a shield. He said the PP no longer helps spread fear of Vox, and he pointed to the 29 November general election as the decisive moment. He also said he will meet Argentine president Javier Milei in person on the evening of 4 November, a meeting that did not happen two weeks ago during Milei's previous visit to Spain.