Spain Faces Three Days of Rail Strikes Next Week, Then a Bigger One on 17 November

Spain’s railways are heading into their hardest week of the autumn. Train drivers strike on Tuesday 10 November, a general strike follows on Wednesday 11 November, drivers walk out again in windows on Thursday 12 November, and a sector-wide rail strike is called for Tuesday 17 November.

The dispute is about safety. After the Urda crash on 28 October, the train drivers’ union SEMAF says Renfe, Adif and the Transport Ministry have not delivered the safety measures agreed back in February. SEMAF met acting transport minister Carlos Cuerpo on Thursday, but the meeting ended without progress, and the strikes stayed on.

Here is how the week breaks down:

Tuesday 10 November — SEMAF drivers strike at Renfe for the full 24 hours. Expect cancellations across AVE high-speed, regional and Cercanías commuter services, although minimum services should keep a skeleton timetable running. The exact minimum-service levels had not been published when this article was written.

Wednesday 11 November — Spain’s first joint general strike by the UGT and CCOO unions since 2012, called over the housing crisis. It runs from midnight to midnight across every sector. Airports will not close, and no airline has announced cancellations, but ground handling, Renfe trains, metros and city buses are all exposed. Barcelona’s Metro, FGC and Rodalies unions have joined the call.

Thursday 12 November — SEMAF drivers stop work in three windows: 06:20–09:20, 14:20–17:20 and 21:20–23:20. In plain terms, the morning peak, the afternoon peak and the late evening are all hit, with normal service in between.

Tuesday 17 November — the biggest rail day. Works committees at Renfe and Adif have called a sector-wide strike, and SEMAF has registered its own call covering drivers at eight operators: Renfe, Iryo, Ouigo, Transfesa, Continental Rail, Tracción Rail, Captrain and Medway. High-speed, regional and commuter trains are all in scope. No cancellation lists or minimum-service arrangements had been published yet.

One piece of good news: the Ouigo-only strikes that some older roundups still list for 6 and 9 November have been called off. If you see those dates elsewhere, that information is out of date.

What to do if you are travelling

• Renfe publishes strike-day timetables and affected-train lists before each strike day. Check renfe.com the day before you travel.
• Renfe normally lets you change or cancel strike-affected tickets free of charge. Do it early, while seats on other trains remain.
• For 11 November, allow much longer for airport journeys, and check Aena and your airline on the morning itself.

StrikeWatch will update this article when minimum services are published.

Sources: El Constitucional (5 November 2026); EFE reporting via FTN News (6 November 2026); SEMAF and Renfe statements.