Overview
- The Sindicato Ferroviario called a nationwide Renfe walkout for Friday 31 July to protest broken or absent air‑conditioning on trains and to oppose the sale of Renfe’s freight arm and workshop closures.
- The Ministry of Transport ordered mandatory minimum services covering 73% of AVE/long‑distance, 65% of medium‑distance and 75% of Cercanías at peak times with an official tally of about 322 potentially affected circulations and roughly 27% of AVE/long‑distance trains not guaranteed.
- Renfe activated contingency plans and is contacting passengers to rebook, change dates or cancel tickets at no cost and has arranged alternate bus services where rail runs are suspended.
- Regional operations in Catalonia remain fragile after recent cable thefts, signalling and catenary failures that forced bus replacements on lines such as the R3 and hit at least six Rodalies and regional lines this week, increasing the practical risk of disruption.
- Past strikes by the same union had very low participation, under 2%, so actual cancellations will depend on staff turnout, but the coinciding infrastructure faults and Spain’s peak holiday travel raise the chance that many passengers will face delays or changes to planned trips.