A second marathon meeting between Transport Minister Óscar Puente and the railway unions SEMAF, UGT and CC OO ended without agreement on 5 February. The unions confirmed they will proceed with a 72-hour strike from 00:00 on 9 February until 24:00 on 11 February, affecting Renfe, Iryo, Ouigo and multiple freight operators.
The walkout is a response to two deadly derailments in Adamuz (Córdoba) and Gelida (Barcelona) that killed 47 people last month and exposed what unions call ‘decades of under-investment’ in signalling and track maintenance. They demand €1.5 billion in urgent safety upgrades, 2,000 new technical staff and faster replacement of ageing rolling stock.
![Talks Fail to Halt 9-11 February National Rail Strike, Threatening Business Travel Across Spain]()
Under minimum-service orders published in the BOE, 73 % of high-speed and long-distance trains and 65 % of medium-distance services must run, while commuter services will operate at 75 % during rush hour and 50 % at other times. Cargo trains will see a 25 % cut. Even with these guarantees, corporate-travel managers should expect cancellations, limited seat availability and cascading delays.
If executives or visitors need to reroute through neighboring France, Portugal or other Schengen gateways to skirt the affected rail corridors, VisaHQ’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) can expedite transit, business or tourist visa applications—often within 24 hours. The service bundles up-to-date consular requirements, document handling and real-time tracking, giving mobility planners one less headache during the disruption.
Multinationals are re-routing essential personnel to air and road transport, but those channels will also be strained. The strike coincides with the start of Mobile World Congress set-up in Barcelona and pre-Carnival tourism peaks in Cádiz and the Canary Islands, multiplying the economic impact.
The walkout is a response to two deadly derailments in Adamuz (Córdoba) and Gelida (Barcelona) that killed 47 people last month and exposed what unions call ‘decades of under-investment’ in signalling and track maintenance. They demand €1.5 billion in urgent safety upgrades, 2,000 new technical staff and faster replacement of ageing rolling stock.
Under minimum-service orders published in the BOE, 73 % of high-speed and long-distance trains and 65 % of medium-distance services must run, while commuter services will operate at 75 % during rush hour and 50 % at other times. Cargo trains will see a 25 % cut. Even with these guarantees, corporate-travel managers should expect cancellations, limited seat availability and cascading delays.
If executives or visitors need to reroute through neighboring France, Portugal or other Schengen gateways to skirt the affected rail corridors, VisaHQ’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) can expedite transit, business or tourist visa applications—often within 24 hours. The service bundles up-to-date consular requirements, document handling and real-time tracking, giving mobility planners one less headache during the disruption.
Multinationals are re-routing essential personnel to air and road transport, but those channels will also be strained. The strike coincides with the start of Mobile World Congress set-up in Barcelona and pre-Carnival tourism peaks in Cádiz and the Canary Islands, multiplying the economic impact.
