Rodalies Drivers Break Minimum Service, 60% of Trains Cancelled
Rodalies drivers ignored minimum service levels on Nov. 10, and 60% of trains were cancelled. Two more strike days are planned this week.
Train drivers on Rodalies (the commuter rail network around Barcelona) did not meet the legally required minimum service on Tuesday, Nov. 10, and the operator said 60% of trains were cancelled. Rodalies Catalunya told passengers that trains were not running the scheduled service and advised them to use alternative transport.
Tuesday is the first of three strike days planned this week. The next two are Wednesday, Nov. 11, which coincides with a general strike, and Thursday, Nov. 12.
Minimum service was set at 66% and 33%
The Generalitat (the Catalan government) had ordered minimum services of 66% during the morning and evening peak hours For the rest of the day the minimum was 33%. According to the Catalan outlet go.eln.cat, drivers have fallen short of those levels since early Tuesday, which forced the cancellations.
In a message on X, Rodalies Catalunya pointed to the breach of minimum services as the reason trains were not running as planned and apologized for the inconvenience.
Why the drivers are striking
The strike was called by Semaf, the majority train drivers’ union. It says the stoppages respond to a blockade of commitments on rail safety. According to the union, working groups created after a February agreement with the Ministry of Transport and the heads of Renfe and Adif (the state rail operator and infrastructure manager) have been halted since April. Those groups were meant to develop new rules, emergency protocols and operating conditions.
The new strike call came the day after a collision between two high-speed trains at Urda, in Toledo province, which killed 69 people.
A dispute over where shifts start
Delays and cancellations have affected Rodalies since the weekend because of the labor conflict. The reports tie it to the breakdown of agreements with the works council (the staff representatives). Since then, the “gràfic reglamentari” (the official duty roster) has had to be applied. Under it, Sants station is the only home base for drivers.
That means drivers must begin their working day in Barcelona, even when they are assigned a train whose journey starts in Vic.
Earlier stoppages
This action comes less than two weeks after Semaf’s previous stoppage on Oct. 29, which also demanded structural changes in rail safety. The union’s call before that was for Feb. 9. It originally covered three days of strikes, but it was called off that same Monday after an agreement with Óscar Puente, then the transport minister.
What this means for commuters
With 60% of trains cancelled on the first day, passengers who rely on Rodalies face disruption through Thursday, when the third strike day is scheduled. The Wednesday stoppage falls on the date of the general strike. Rodalies Catalunya points travelers to its website for details on alternative services.
Source: go.eln.cat
