Follow-Up: Spain's General Strike Hits Transport; Barcelona Metro Shut for Much of the Day, Commuter Trains Widely Blocked
Spain's first nationwide general strike in 14 years hit transport hardest as it moved into daytime hours on November 11. In and around Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, metro, commuter rail, bus and tram services ran at only 25 percent of normal levels during two minimum-service windows, 6:30-9:30 a.m. and 4:30-9:00 p.m., and the Barcelona metro was shut entirely between 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Catalan transport officials said pickets blocked access roads so that 13 of 44 scheduled Rodalies commuter trains could not depart, and the entrance to Barcelona's Sants station was briefly blocked. About 50 road cuts were reported across Catalonia.
Madrid was less affected: the metro ran at roughly 80 to 90 percent of capacity in the morning and commuter trains were broadly normal, though pickets at some bus depots left passengers waiting more than an hour. In aviation, by 8:30 a.m. six flights had been cancelled at Madrid's Barajas airport, six in the Canary Islands and 21 at Palma in the Balearic Islands.
National rail operator Renfe ran minimum services of 73 percent on high-speed and long-distance trains and 65 percent on medium-distance trains.
Source: Spanish Ministry of Transport
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：巴塞罗那 Sants 火车站（资料图）。Matti Blume 摄，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Barcelona Sants railway station, file photo by Matti Blume, via Wikimedia Commons.
