Pedro Sanchez has vowed to restore confidence in Spain’s high-speed railway ‘whatever it takes’ in the wake of the Toledo disaster.
He made the comments while announcing plans to double the insurance payouts for the victims of the tragedy.
Speaking at the opening of the World in Progress forum in Barcelona, the prime minister said his government had an obligation to rebuild passengers’ trust as quickly as possible.
‘Whatever it takes, I have no doubt that we will be capable of doing it,’ he said.
Sanchez began his address by remembering the 69 people killed in the collision near Urda and the 34 injured people he said remained in hospital.
He described a country mourning the dead while families of the injured endured hours of ‘anguish and hope’.
He added that the government would accompany those affected in their search for answers to something that ‘should never have happened’.
Sanchez promised a rigorous and transparent investigation, saying independent investigators and the courts would have every resource necessary to establish the causes of the collision.
An urgent support package is due to be announced at the next Cabinet meeting, with the prime minister describing assistance for victims as the most immediate priority.
Modelled on measures introduced after the earlier Adamuz rail disaster, the package will double the amount payable under compulsory passenger insurance and bring forward compensation payments.
It will also introduce a specific temporary incapacity procedure offering enhanced support, alongside specialist assistance offices at central government delegations and subdelegations in areas where affected people live.
Sanchez thanked emergency responders, healthcare workers and residents of Urda for their efforts following the crash.
Their response, he said, demonstrated the willingness of people across Spain to help without hesitation.
‘When everything breaks, what sustains us is public healthcare, emergency services and the public security forces,’ he said.
His speech also moved into the wider political debate, with a defence of European unity and a warning about the rise of the far right.
Sanchez accused far-right movements of seeking to divide Europe and of serving foreign leaders and oligarchs.
‘Spain is governed from Spain, not from Washington, Tel Aviv, Moscow or Buenos Aires,’ he said.
He praised European conservative leaders Donald Tusk and Friedrich Merz for refusing agreements with the far right, arguing that similar boundaries should apply in Spain, in a reference to the PP’s relationship with Vox.
