Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez stated on the morning of the 4th local time that Carlos Quintana, the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, will also serve as Minister of Transport until elections are held on November 29th.
Sánchez stated in a public address that Quirino "demonstrated extremely strong management skills" during this term of office.
Quilpo is a key figure who has emerged in Sanchez's government. As a technocrat, during Nadia Calvenio's tenure as Economic Minister, Quilpo served as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury. After Calvenio was elected President of the European Investment Bank, Quilpo took over the economic department. Later, Sanchez promoted him to become the First Deputy Prime Minister.
On November 3rd, Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Pujol announced his resignation. He stated that Spain had experienced two major high-speed rail accidents in less than a year, and as Transport Minister, he could no longer continue in his position.
Sanchez said: "Oscar's resignation helps Spain regain confidence—not only among the people in their own railway system, but also in terms of political integrity."
In January this year, a high-speed rail accident occurred in Adamaús, southern Spain, resulting in the death of 46 people. More than nine months later, another major accident occurred on the same high-speed rail line in Urdà, causing the death of 69 people.
On October 29 local time, Spanish media reported that the train driver involved in the subsequent accident attempted to restart the train twice, but failed. The driver reported to the dispatching center that the train was still stuck on the track. However, the train behind was allowed to move at a normal speed, which ultimately led to the tragedy.
At the press conference, Spain's Transport Minister Oscar Pujol said that this accident was "truly unbelievable."
He said: “At that time, there were red lights prohibiting traffic flow, but trains were allowed to pass through. This is a puzzling decision.”
