Pedro Jesús Reina Rodríguez, father of 22-year-old Renfe mechanic David Reina Reguera, has written to Transport Minister Óscar Puente demanding he “take responsibility once and for all” after the 28 October Urda train crash; Puente has since resigned and the president of Spain’s rail infrastructure operator Adif has submitted his resignation.
In the letter, shared on his social media accounts, Reina Rodríguez asks Puente to look at a photo of his son and to judge whether it is fair that, “due to the appalling management of your ministry, with you at the helm”, he is now looking after his son’s ashes. “What I demand is that you finally, once and for all, take responsibility for failing to allocate the necessary resources to upgrade and renovate infrastructure that was already falling apart at the seams,” he writes, asking: “Or have we not learnt anything from Adamuz?”
His son was travelling in carriage number 8 of an AVE bound for Seville and had been missing for several days after the collision between the high-speed train and an Iryo train near Urda, Toledo. The family received confirmation of David’s death after an agonising wait. Reina Rodríguez also criticises Puente for not visiting the support centre set up by Renfe at the El Buen Pastor parish hall in Toledo, while thanking Renfe staff, local residents, civil protection staff, psychologists, the Red Cross, security personnel and the Guardia Civil for looking after the relatives “with the utmost care and kindness”.
The Urda crash killed 69 people and was Spain’s second deadly rail accident of the year, following a January crash near Adamuz that killed 46. Adif, responsible for Spain’s rail infrastructure, signaling and traffic control, has been under intense scrutiny since the disaster.
Adif President Luis Pedro Marco de la Peña has submitted his resignation to the new transport minister, Carlos Cuerpo. The resignation was first reported by local media and confirmed by a Spanish government official in a text message. Cuerpo stepped into the ministry after Puente resigned on Tuesday night, following a marathon hearing before Congress’ Permanent Deputation at which both allies and opponents urged him to resign.
Earlier on Wednesday, Cuerpo convened with Marco de la Peña, Renfe President Álvaro Fernández Heredia and Secretary of State for Transport José Antonio Santano. A day earlier, a senior government official had said there were no plans to remove Marco de la Peña and dismissed rumors of Puente’s resignation; Puente stepped down only hours later.
The letter concludes with a demand on behalf of David and all the victims: “I demand this on behalf of my son, who died in the accident, and on behalf of all those victims and families devastated by this terrible tragedy which, as I have said time and again, could have been avoided.”
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Spain’s high-speed rail network is a central part of the country’s transport system, and a second deadly crash in less than a year raises questions about infrastructure investment and safety oversight.
- The resignations of Puente and Marco de la Peña leave Carlos Cuerpo, a new minister, to manage the political and safety response to the disaster.
- Victims’ families are now publicly demanding accountability, which may shape the investigation and any reforms.
Background
On 28 October, a high-speed AVE train collided with an Iryo train near Urda in Toledo, killing 69 people. David Reina Reguera, a 22-year-old Renfe mechanic travelling in carriage 8, was among the dead. It was Spain’s second deadly rail accident of 2026, after a crash near Adamuz in January killed 46 people. Adif manages Spain’s rail infrastructure, signaling and traffic control, while Renfe operates the AVE service.
Key Perspectives
- Pedro Jesús Reina Rodríguez: says the ministry failed to allocate the necessary resources to upgrade infrastructure that was already “falling apart at the seams”, and criticises Puente for not visiting the family support centre in Toledo.
- Allies and opponents in Congress: urged Puente to resign during the Permanent Deputation hearing.
- A senior government official: said the day before the resignations that there were no plans to remove Marco de la Peña and dismissed rumors of Puente’s resignation.
What to Watch
- Whether Cuerpo makes further leadership changes at Renfe or in the transport ministry after convening with top rail officials on Wednesday.
- Whether the official investigation into the Urda collision examines the infrastructure failures that Reina Rodríguez blames for the crash.
- How the government responds to the family’s comparison between Urda and the Adamuz crash, which killed 46 people in January.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 2 sources: 11 supported.
Show each claim
- Partly supportedThe headline says Spain’s rail chief resigns, and the summary says Adif president Luis Pedro Marco de la Peña quits.Politico Europe: “Adif President Luis Pedro Marco de la Peña has submitted his resignation to Spain’s new transport minister, Carlos Cuerpo.”
- SupportedPedro Jesús Reina Rodríguez urges Óscar Puente to “take responsibility once and for all”.Sur in English: “What I demand is that you finally, once and for all, take responsibility for failing to allocate the necessary resources to upgrade and renovate infrastructure that was already falling apart at the seams.”
- SupportedAdif President Luis Pedro Marco de la Peña has submitted his resignation to new transport minister Carlos Cuerpo.Politico Europe: “Adif President Luis Pedro Marco de la Peña has submitted his resignation to Spain’s new transport minister, Carlos Cuerpo.”
- SupportedÓscar Puente resigned and Carlos Cuerpo took over as transport minister.Politico Europe: “This marks Cuerpo’s first notable action since stepping into the ministry after former Transport Minister Oscar Puente’s resignation Tuesday night.”
- SupportedReina Rodríguez wrote to Puente after the 28 October Urda crash, saying the ministry’s management under Puente left him caring for his son’s ashes.Sur in English: “due to the appalling management of your ministry, with you at the helm, I should now be the one looking after the ashes of that very same boy, my son.”
- SupportedReina Rodríguez asked Puente, “Or have we not learnt anything from Adamuz?”Sur in English: “Or have we not learnt anything from Adamuz?”
- SupportedDavid Reina Reguera was 22, worked as a Renfe mechanic and was travelling in carriage 8 of an AVE bound for Seville.Sur in English: “David Reina was 22 years old. He grew up in the Las Chapas area and had been living in Madrid for almost two years, where he worked as a train mechanic for Renfe. The young man was travelling in carriage number 8 of the AVE bound for Seville”
- SupportedDavid was missing for several days after the collision, and his family received confirmation of his death after an agonising wait.Sur in English: “After several days of agonising waiting, during which the family never ceased searching for the young man, the family received confirmation of David's death .”
- SupportedThe Urda crash killed 69 people and was Spain’s second deadly rail accident of the year; the January Adamuz crash killed 46.Politico Europe: “The Urda crash was Spain’s second deadly rail accident of the year, following January’s crash near Adamuz, which killed 46 people.”
- SupportedReina Rodríguez criticised Puente for not visiting the family support centre at the El Buen Pastor parish hall in Toledo.Sur in English: “In the letter, he also criticises Puente's absence at the support centre for the families of those killed in the tragedy”
- SupportedCuerpo met with Marco de la Peña, Renfe President Álvaro Fernández Heredia and Secretary of State for Transport José Antonio Santano on Wednesday.Politico Europe: “Earlier Wednesday, Cuerpo convened with Marco de la Peña, Renfe President Álvaro Fernández Heredia and Secretary of State for Transport José Antonio Santano.”
- SupportedA senior government official had said there were no plans to remove Marco de la Peña and dismissed rumours of Puente’s resignation, but Puente resigned hours later.Politico Europe: “Just a day earlier, a senior government official said there were no plans to remove Marco de la Peña and dismissed rumors of Puente’s resignation. Yet Puente stepped down only hours later .”