Tellado calls Óscar Puente irresponsible and says he should not stay in office after Urda

Tellado accuses Puente and Sánchez

Miguel Tellado, the PP secretary general, used an interview on RTVE's La hora de La 1 on Tuesday, 3 November, to call Transport Minister Óscar Puente "irresponsible" over the Urda train crash. He said Puente had been aware that the LZB train-protection system had failed "169 other times", and asked how many more times hundreds of Spaniards would be placed at risk as they were at Urda. Tellado argued that Puente should never have been appointed, saying he did not meet the requirements for the post. He placed political responsibility on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who appointed Puente, and on José Luis Ábalos, whom he described as convicted of corruption.

“Óscar Puente should never have been minister. He did not meet the requirements to be one.”

The Urda crash and the government response

The train accident at Urda, in the province of Toledo, happened on 28 October and killed 69 people, with more than 200 injured. On Tuesday, 3 November, Puente was due to present to the Council of Ministers a report prepared by his department, while the cabinet was set to approve an aid decree for the victims and their families. He was also scheduled to appear that afternoon before the Permanent Deputation of Congress to account for his management. Puente has refused to step down, saying his responsibility is to face the public, clarify what happened and keep running the ministry. According to government sources, he offered his resignation to Sánchez after the accident, but Sánchez declined, calling his removal an "unjust" decision and expressing his support.

Opposition and media voices

On Monday, 2 November, Antonio García Ferreras pressed the question of Puente's future on Al Rojo Vivo, arguing that the country needed a wider debate on its railways beyond high-speed lines. He said comfort and punctuality had deteriorated for a long time, and that the system had now reached a third phase, insecurity, with passengers afraid to board trains. Asked whether Puente should resign, he said:

“It is a matter of political responsibility, decency and sensitivity towards the victims.”

Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the PP leader and candidate in the 29 November election, said Puente had devoted more time to social networks than to rail and road networks. He linked Puente's handling to the earlier Adamuz accident, saying a rail break that Adif's safety services had not detected lasted more than 20 hours before it caused the crash. Feijóo argued that the real responsibility lay with whoever appointed Puente, meaning Sánchez. Santiago Abascal, leader of Vox, went further in a Telecinco interview, describing the Adamuz and Urda crashes as "political crimes" for which he blamed the prime minister, demanded his resignation, and rejected the government's account of "human error". He also said he would not attend an event organised by the government.

Clash with RTVE over La hora de La 1

Tellado's interview also turned to Carlos Mazón, the former Valencian president. Tellado said Mazón had assumed responsibilities and resigned over the 29 October 2024 DANA, which killed 234 people, and he set that record against Puente's continued tenure. He accused La hora de La 1 of political use and of insulting PP voters, and questioned why a programme that had demanded Mazón's resignation now backed Puente. Presenter Silvia Intxaurrondo rejected the claim that the programme endorsed Puente, and disputed the idea that no warnings had been given before the DANA:

“There were warnings, because from first thing in the morning we ran live broadcasts from that area and said what was coming.”

Intxaurrondo also reminded Tellado that Mazón had resigned a year after the flood, and Tellado then confirmed that Mazón had resigned.