By Victoria Waldersee and Charlie Devereux
MADRID, Oct 29 (Reuters) – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had hoped to ride a wave of public anger over the eviction of an octogenarian, who later died, to win reelection in a snap election, but Wednesday’s deadly train crash has dealt a serious blow to his campaign.
The accident in Toledo province killed 68 people and came just nine months after another deadly crash on the same line, leading to accusations from experts and the public of underinvestment in railway infrastructure under Sanchez’s government after years of rapid network expansion.
“If we were scared of taking trains before, now we’re even more so … Just when you think nothing else could possibly go wrong, something new happens. There needs to be major change,” Oscar, a 24-year-old who declined to give his last name, said at Madrid’s Atocha station on Wednesday.
Speaking at the accident site on Wednesday, Sanchez said the “terrible tragedy” would be investigated and pledged to address any failures that came to light.
“If we need to further strengthen safety in order to rebuild confidence in our high-speed rail system, we will do so, because it is unacceptable for a country like Spain to suffer two high-speed rail accidents in the same year,” he said.
Sanchez, who had been trailing in most opinion polls, had appeared to be gaining some traction, with an October survey by state-run pollster CIS showing his party ahead with just weeks to go to the November 29 election.
The death of Maricarmen Abascal, who was evicted from her home of more than 70 years, sparked widespread protests across Spain, focusing political attention on a housing crisis that is cited in polls as the top priority for most Spaniards.
The outcry over Abascal, which led Sanchez to call for a snap election on October 5, was an opportunity to divert media attention from his government’s handling of a migrant crisis in Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta this summer. Right-wing parties and security forces had accused the Socialists of underinvestment in border infrastructure despite repeated warnings from staff.
NO ROOM FOR ‘TRIUMPHALIST RHETORIC’
Sanchez, 54, has pitched himself as the candidate of progress instead of a return by the far right to government for the first time since the death of dictator Francisco Franco.
He has so far run a positive, upbeat campaign, giving interviews on pop culture talk shows and podcasts as his party attempts to mobilise millions of undecided left-leaning voters to the polls.
“I don’t think that triumphalist rhetoric … has any place right now and I suspect it will be a long time before we see that kind of attitude return,” said Paco Camas, public affairs director at pollster Ipsos.
This week’s crash will force a shift towards a more sombre tone, Camas said.
Sanchez’s opponents immediately called for accountability and said they would not be silenced by mourning.
“Pain does not oblige us to keep quiet. Serenity is not silence… Spaniards will ask urgent questions which deserve answers,” said Alberto Nuñez Feijoo, president of the conservative People’s Party, promising a full review of the network if he came into power.
PROTESTERS GATHER IN MADRID
On Wednesday evening, hundreds of mostly far-right demonstrators gathered in front of Spain’s Transport Ministry to call for Sanchez’s resignation, with one carrying a banner emblazoned with the words, “Spain can’t take it anymore.”
“This government has destroyed absolutely everything, including infrastructure,” said Santiago Abascal, the leader of far-right Vox at a rally on Wednesday. “We will not let them use the mourning we share, the anger, pain and indignation, to silence even for a second the condemnation of what is happening in Spain.”
Transport Minister Oscar Puente rejected allegations in a press conference on Wednesday that Spain’s railway system was dangerous, stating it was “reliable and safe … with the limits of the material itself and of human action, as is the case with any form of transport.”
NO TRUST IN RAIL SERVICES
Sanchez once touted the country’s 4,000 km (2,485 miles) high-speed rail system – the world’s second-largest after China’s – as a political asset, though it may now become a liability.
Polls in Spanish media conducted in January after the last fatal crash showed 57% perceived a worsening of rail services since Sanchez came into office and nearly 60% stated they had little or no trust in Spain’s railway system.
An investigation into the cause of that accident is still underway, according to Spain’s transport ministry, with a preliminary report identifying a fracture in the rail which appeared to have occurred prior to the derailment.
High-speed rail use, which had broken records in 2024 and 2025, fell 15% in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, data from Spain’s competition authority showed.
Puente declined to say on Wednesday whether he would step down, stating it was “not the time” to talk about himself.
(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Charlie Devereux, Corina Pons, Pietro Lombardi; Writing by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
