The president of the Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has accused Pedro Sánchez's Government of neglecting railway safety after the two major accidents that occurred in less than a year. According to his statements, both accidents have left, "for now, 115 dead".
Feijóo made these statements this Friday after meeting in Madrid with experts in railway infrastructure and services. During his appearance, he criticized the management of the Ministry of Transport and directly pointed to the President of the Government and Minister Óscar Puente as political responsible parties.
The opposition leader believes that the Executive has not renewed some safety systems in time and that track maintenance has not kept pace with the increase in railway traffic. He also warned that political responsibilities will be decided at the polls on November 29.
Feijóo points to Sánchez and Puente and demands political accountability
During his speech, Feijóo insisted that the Government must assume responsibility for the accidents in Adamuz (Córdoba) and Urda (Toledo). In his opinion, the President of the Government and the Minister of Transport must answer for the management of the railway system, since both were at the head of the Executive when the two accidents occurred.
"My level of demand is very different. Whoever has failed in their duty to seriously manage the Ministry of Transport has to bear the consequences. And whoever appointed them, and kept them, even more so," he stated. The president of the PP demanded that political responsibilities should not have to wait for judicial investigations to conclude. In this regard, he sent a direct message to the Executive: "If they don't resign, we will resign them at the polls".
He also criticized Óscar Puente's statements about an Adif worker after the leak of audios related to the accident. Feijóo believes that the Government is looking for an individual responsible to explain what happened and has described as "cowardly and immoral" that an operator is singled out as the sole culprit. "We continue to insist that all layers of security have failed," he said. Furthermore, he defended that the investigation must clarify what happened and determine the corresponding responsibilities.
The PP's proposals to strengthen railway safety
Feijóo has presented several measures to improve the functioning of the railway system. Among them, he has called for a rigorous investigation into the Urda accident, a complete review of the tracks and safety systems, and an urgent plan to improve infrastructure maintenance. He has also demanded a specific budget for conservation and safety, as well as strengthening the technical teams responsible for supervising the operation of the railway network.
The popular leader has argued that positions of responsibility must be filled by people with experience and technical knowledge. In addition, he has proposed a "total reset" of the railway system and has assured that, if he comes to power, he will choose those responsible for Transport based on their experience and professional background. On the other hand, Feijóo has complained that Pedro Sánchez has not provided him with information about the accidents. As he explained, the Prime Minister has not informed him of other matters during the last four and a half years either.
Finally, the PP leader has responded to the criticism received for his statements about the Angrois accident in 2013. He has defended that that case had a judicial investigation and a sentence that, according to him, supported his explanation of what happened. He has also expressed his concern about the situation of the railway corridor between Madrid and Catalonia and has questioned how safety will be guaranteed on other lines after the latest accidents.
