The programme's realization was further impeded when in 2004, tragedy struck in the form of the Madrid train bombings. Coincidentally, the attack took place on the exact same day the initial phase of the then-Operación Chamartín was to be approved, with an event of this magnitude being cited as the only eventuality that could have delayed this approval. The political fallout of the attack upended the former government's majority, with the new government under José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero proceeding to renegotiate key aspects of the plans. These talks once more lasted for several years, and when the Zapatero-led government and DUCH arrived at a partial compromise in December 2008, the recession following the financial crisis of 2007–2008 had already begun to unleash its effects on the Spanish banking and real estate sectors. Another attempt at starting the project, initiated by the municipal government of mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, was shot down by the in 2013.