Rail Strike on Nov. 17: Rodalies Keeps 66% of Trains at Rush Hour
Rodalies will run 66% of trains at rush hour and 33% the rest of the day in the Nov. 17 rail strike. Minimums for AVE, regional and freight trains.
Commuters on Rodalies, the Renfe suburban rail network around Barcelona, will have only part of the usual service on Tuesday, Nov. 17, when a 24-hour strike hits Renfe, Adif (the state rail infrastructure manager) and other rail operators across Spain. The Generalitat (Catalan government) has set minimum services at 66% of trains during rush hours and 33% for the rest of the day, according to 3Cat.
The walkout follows a week of constant disruption on the network, as Renfe and its train drivers try to bring services back to normal under a new schedule and shift system they agreed on.
What it means for Rodalies riders
The Departament d’Empresa i Treball (the Catalan business and labour department) fixed the Rodalies minimums in two bands:
- Peak hours, from 6.00 to 9.30 a.m. and from 5.00 to 8.30 p.m.: 66% of trains.
- All other hours: 33% of trains.
Outside the morning and evening peaks, that leaves about one train in three, so waits between trains will be longer and carriages fuller than usual. Renfe has repeated its standard request that passengers plan trips with extra time and check the service status before they travel. Our guide to Rodalies lines, tickets and delay refunds covers how the network is organized.
Whether the minimums will actually be met is an open question. During the previous strike, the Generalitat said Rodalies had failed to run the required services and announced it would investigate.
High-speed, regional and freight trains
The Ministerio de Transportes (Spain’s transport ministry), now headed by Carlos Cuerpo, set the minimums for national services. AVE high-speed and long-distance trains will run 72% of their service. Medium-distance trains will keep an average of 65% of their scheduled runs, and freight services will run 26% of planned traffic.
Why rail workers are striking
The works councils of Renfe and Adif called the strike to demand more staff and technical improvements for safety. Their call comes after the train accidents at Adamuz, in Córdoba, and Urda, in Toledo, which left 115 people dead.
Every rail union has joined. The list includes Semaf (the Spanish train drivers’ union), CCOO, UGT, the rail branch of the CGT union (SFF-CGT), the Sindicat Ferroviari Intersindical (SF-I) and Alternativa Ferroviària (Alferro).
Semaf has also called its own strike for the same day at the three passenger operators: Iryo, Ouigo and the public operator Renfe. Its call covers the freight companies Transfesa, Continental Rail, Tracción Rail, Captrain and Medway as well.
What comes next
Another strike day is already planned for Monday, Nov. 23. Minimum services for that date have not yet been announced. Before then, Renfe and its drivers are still working to get Rodalies back on its normal timetable after a week in which trains ran far off schedule, and the Generalitat’s investigation into the last strike day is still pending.
Source: 3Cat 324
