The Popular Parliamentary Group demanded this Thursday the urgent appearance of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, before the Permanent Deputation of Congress to explain the train accident in Urda, Toledo. The PP believes that political responsibility extends to the head of the Executive for having appointed and keeping the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, in his position.
"The responsibilities do not end with Óscar Puente. Sánchez was the one who appointed him and keeps him in his position," the popular group maintains in the publication with which it disseminated its request. The party recalls that Urda and Adamuz are two railway tragedies that occurred on the Madrid-Andalusia high-speed line in nine months.
🔴 Exigimos la comparecencia de Pedro Sánchez en Diputación Permanente para que dé explicaciones urgentes sobre la tragedia ferroviaria ocurrida en Urda, Toledo. pic.twitter.com/pOjcAFwRdh
— Grupo Popular en el Congreso (@GPPopular) October 29, 2026
The request comes after the president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, demanded political accountability this Thursday in Urda without waiting for the investigations to conclude. The opposition leader visited the advanced command post alongside his party's president in Castilla-La Mancha, Paco Núñez, and spoke there with the regional president, Emiliano García-Page.
"Political responsibilities are not optional, they are ethically and morally demandable," stated Feijóo, who also reproached the Minister of Transport for pointing to an operator at the Atocha control center in his initial explanations. The popular president called for "a cool head" and respect for the victims.
The national spokesperson for the PP, Borja Sémper, had already focused on the President of the Government in the morning. In an interview on 'Onda Cero', he maintained that what happened "transcends Óscar Puente" and that there is a "higher responsibility" of whoever keeps the minister in office.
Puente to appear on Tuesday and the PNV demands accountability
The PP's demand comes after Congress confirmed that Óscar Puente will appear at his own request on Tuesday, November 3, at 5:00 p.m., before the Permanent Deputation. The minister will also offer a press conference this Friday morning to update information on the accident.
During the morning, Frente Amplio had announced that it would ask Puente for explanations in the Chamber, a request that the Sumar group has channeled. ERC and Podemos have also submitted a joint request for the head of Transport to report on what happened.
The PNV spokesperson in Congress, Maribel Vaquero, has for her part demanded that the causes be clarified and that "technical and political responsibilities at the highest level" be assumed. Asked about Puente's continuity, she indicated that it is up to Sánchez to decide on the measures after the president himself described the repetition of accidents of this severity as "unacceptable."
From the far-right Vox, its spokesperson for the Spain Agenda, Isabel Pérez, has gone so far as to point to Sánchez and Puente as "direct authors" of the tragedy. The causes of the collision and possible responsibilities are still under investigation.
Sánchez participated this Thursday in Toledo in the emergency coordination meeting alongside García-Page. After the meeting, he committed to clarifying "every last detail" of what happened and to reinforcing railway safety. The Urda accident leaves a provisional toll of 69 dead and more than a hundred injured.
