Crowds and delays as commuter train drivers begin strike

Commuters in the Barcelona area faced crowded platforms and delays on the first day of a Renfe train drivers strike on Monday morning.

The protest was called by a minority union, CGT, but it took a toll on passengers.

"We were so crammed that already in Montcada no more people could get on," said Ramon, a passenger who boarded a train in Sabadell going towards Barcelona.

"I was traveling with a suitcase and it was impossible to get on the train, some people have had to stay on the platform because they could not fit," said Àxel, in Barcelona's Sant Andreu Arenal station. He ended up switching means of transport and taking the underground.

"We are always the ones having to put up with it, we were crammed on the train," said Mari Carmen, a commuter who was travelling from Tarragona to the Catalan capital.

Indeed, the strike is not only affecting the Rodalies commuter network, but also medium-distance and high-speed services, some of which ended up cancelled – yet, Renfe stated that most passengers were accommodated on other trains.

The Catalan work ministry set minimum services at two out of three trains during rush hour (from 6am to 9.30am and from 5pm to 8.30pm) and one in three for the rest of the day.

Despite the crowds, minimum services have been met, according to Renfe, who says that only 2.95% of workers have gone on strike.

Around 65% of medium-distance high-speed Avant trains ran in the morning, as well as 72% of long-distance high-speed AVE trains. 

New strike day on Friday

CGT has called another day of protest: this Friday, November 11, from midnight to 11pm.

The union is protesting against drivers' "loss of purchasing power" due to inflation.

They also want their workweek to be reduced to 35 hours, like at Adif, the rail sector's other Spanish government-owned company.