The industrial action follows two deadly train accidents in January that have raised serious concerns about rail safety, News.Az reports, citing BBC.
The first occurred in Adamuz, in southern Spain, where 46 people were killed when a high-speed train derailed and collided with another train travelling in the opposite direction.
Just two days later, near Barcelona in Catalonia, a separate incident left a train driver dead and dozens of passengers injured.
The crashes have caused widespread disruption for travellers and have cast doubt on the reliability of Spain’s heavily promoted rail system.
The train drivers’ union Semaf is calling for the recruitment of additional staff and increased investment in maintenance, warning of what it describes as the “constant deterioration of the rail network.” According to the union, safety inspections carried out after the collisions uncovered faults and maintenance issues on several routes.
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, is expected to face tough questioning in parliament later this week over the state of the rail system and the recent failures.
The Adamuz crash on 18 January marked Spain’s worst rail disaster in more than a decade. A preliminary report by the rail accident investigation commission CIAF found grooves on the wheels of the derailed train, as well as on three earlier trains, suggesting that a fracture in the track existed before the train passed over it.
In the second accident, in Catalonia, a trainee driver was killed and at least 37 passengers were injured after a collapsed wall caused a local train to derail. Rail officials believe the wall fell as the train was passing, striking the driver’s cab first before inflicting significant damage on the first carriage, where most of the injured passengers were seated.
Semaf has said the two incidents represent “a turning point” and has demanded that all necessary measures be taken to ensure the safety of rail operations.
Investment in the rail network has come under particular scrutiny. The Socialist-led government has rejected claims of underfunding, noting that €700 million (£605 million) has been invested in upgrading the Madrid–Andalusia line in recent years, including the section of track where the Adamuz crash occurred.
“We’re not looking at a problem of lack of maintenance, we’re not looking at a problem of obsolete infrastructure, and we’re not looking at a problem of lack of investment,” Transport Minister Óscar Puente said.
