Spain Reaches Rail Safety Deal as Drivers Call Off Three-Day Strike After Day One

Overview

• The Transport Ministry and rail unions agreed to a package described by Semaf as 25 measures across three pillars: new safety rules, increased maintenance investment, and added staffing.
• Unions canceled the remaining two days of walkouts after Monday’s disruptions, which brought delays and hundreds of cancellations across the network.
• Authorities had ordered minimum services of up to 75% of short-distance trains at peak times and 50% otherwise, yet Madrid’s Atocha station saw heavy crowding and controlled access during the morning rush.
• The strike followed two deadly January incidents that killed 47 people, including 46 in an Adamuz high-speed derailment and a trainee driver in a separate wall collapse near Barcelona that injured at least 37.
• Investigators reported wheel grooves on trains passing the Adamuz stretch and indicated a rail fracture may have preceded the derailment, while the transport minister has rejected claims of systemic neglect and cited roughly €700 million invested on the Madrid–Andalusia line.