Employees of the Spanish railway group Renfe are called to a 24-hour strike on Wednesday, July 15. The government has mandated minimum essential services, but 94 high-speed and long-distance trains and 224 medium-distance trains are not guaranteed to run. Commuter service will be maintained at 75% during peak hours and 50% the rest of the day.
Spain is bracing for another day of rail disruptions. Sindicato Ferroviario – SF-Intersindical has called for a strike on Wednesday, July 15, which will begin at 12:00 a.m. and end at 11:59 p.m.
The strike affects all work sites and all categories of employees within the Renfe group, Spain’s public rail operator.
This is the second strike called by the same union this summer, following the one on June 29. The Ministry of Transportation in Madrid warns that the protest is taking place on a workday and at the start of the second half of July, when regular travel overlaps with people leaving for and returning from vacation.
249 high-speed and long-distance trains are guaranteed
For high-speed and long-distance services, the government has set a minimum level of 73% of the regular schedule.
Of the 343 trains scheduled for Wednesday, 249 are guaranteed to run. The remaining 94 trains could be canceled or disrupted, depending on employee participation in the strike.
The ministry justifies the high percentage by citing high demand during this period and the limited capacity of airplanes and buses to accommodate passengers who would otherwise be unable to travel by train.
The government document shows that, on a day of peak demand, Renfe high-speed and long-distance trains can carry over 124,000 passengers, with an average occupancy rate close to the limit of available capacity.
224 medium-distance trains are not guaranteed
For medium-distance trains, minimum service levels have been set at 66%.
426 of the 650 scheduled trains must run. The remaining 224 services depend on strike participation and may be canceled.
Some of these routes serve rural areas or regions where public transportation alternatives are limited or restricted to intercity buses. On low-frequency lines, authorities have sought to maintain at least one train in each direction.
The official list published by the Ministry of Transportation separately lists medium-distance trains and high-speed or long-distance trains that are part of the minimum service.
Between 50% and 75% of commuter trains
On the Cercanías networks—the equivalent of metropolitan and commuter trains—the following will operate:
- 75% of regular trains during peak hours;
- 50% during the rest of the day.
Peak hours are generally set in the morning, between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., at noon, and in the evening, between approximately 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Exact times may vary by regional network.
These services are of particular importance to major urban areas. The Cercanías networks covered by the government resolution carry approximately 1.1 million passengers on a typical workday, of which over 940,000 are in the Madrid region.
In Catalonia and the Basque Country, where authority over certain rail services has been transferred to regional authorities, minimum service levels are set by the Generalitat and the Basque Government, respectively.
The union accuses Renfe Mercancías of “abandonment”
The conflict is not limited to employees’ working conditions. The union accuses Renfe and the Ministry of Transportation of failing to honor the agreements reached in November 2023 with staff representatives.
One of the main issues is the future of Renfe Mercancías, the group’s rail freight division.
SF-Intersindical denounces what it calls a “deliberate abandonment” of the division and opposes its reorganization through an alliance with Medway, the rail freight operator controlled by the Swiss shipping group MSC.
The union believes this strategy represents a step toward the privatization of rail freight transport currently operated by the public company.
The previous strike had a participation rate of 1.83%
Renfe points out that the strike organized by the same union on June 29 had a participation rate of only 1.83% of the workforce.
For this reason, a large portion of the trains that were not included in the minimum service at that time were able to run, and traffic proceeded almost normally across most of the network.
The union, however, disputed the company’s account and accused Renfe of resorting to illegal measures to restrict the right to strike. The organization announced that it will challenge these practices in court.
The low turnout in June means that even on Wednesday, the cancellation of all 318 trains not included in the minimum service is not certain. These trains may run if there are enough staff available.
What passengers can do
Renfe recommends that passengers check the status of their train before departure via the operator’s website and app, messages sent to the email address used to purchase the ticket, or customer service.
Passengers whose train is canceled will be able, depending on seat availability, to choose another service with a departure time close to the one originally booked.
For affected tickets, Renfe will allow passengers to change their trip, reschedule it for another date, or cancel and receive a refund at no additional cost. Passengers are advised to keep their ticket and all messages received from the operator.
Share on:
