Spain Approves New Rail Safety Measures as Train Drivers Begin Three-Day Strike
Spain's Council of Ministers on November 10 approved a decree-law introducing new rail safety and worker protection measures, on the first day of a three-day strike by train drivers. The strike, organized by the train drivers' union Semaf together with CCOO and UGT, began with a 24-hour stoppage on November 10, followed by partial stoppages on subsequent days, affecting the Rodalies commuter network and other rail operations nationwide.
According to state train operator Renfe, about 40 percent of long- and medium-distance services were cancelled on the first day, affecting 4,042 passengers, while 90 percent of services in Madrid's commuter network and 50 percent of Barcelona's local services were cancelled. The government measures approved on Tuesday include a clarification of how the time drivers spend operating a train is calculated, addressing some of the unions' longstanding demands.
Spain has suffered two fatal rail crashes this year on the same high-speed Madrid-Seville line, which killed 115 people in total. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez last week appointed his deputy Carlos Cuerpo to provisionally run the Transport Ministry after Óscar Puente resigned over the two crashes. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia were set to join relatives of the victims of last month's crash, in which 69 people died, at a funeral in Toledo Cathedral later on November 10.
(Source: Spain Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility)
Source: Spain Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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