Spain: Renfe train drivers' 24-hour strike on Thursday 29 October 2026 (SEMAF)

The train drivers' union SEMAF has called a 24-hour strike of driving staff in all Grupo Renfe companies on Thursday 29 October 2026, from 00:01 to 23:59. The call was filed on 16 October, after a conciliation attempt lodged on 5 October failed and a meeting that day with the transport ministry, Adif, the rail safety agency AESF and Renfe produced no result.

What to expect: Renfe's Cercanías, regional, long-distance and high-speed (AVE) services across Spain may be reduced or cancelled on 29 October. The transport ministry sets minimum services before the strike and Renfe publishes the trains that will run; this page will be updated when they are known.

Why: SEMAF lists ten points: binding protocols for extreme-weather alerts and communication in risk situations, a 'just culture' that does not automatically blame drivers, a direct channel to the safety agency and the Labour Inspectorate, technical fixes to rolling-stock safety and reliability problems, correct application of rest interruptions in driving time, unblocking the reduced retirement coefficients, entry of new recruits as trainee drivers under the 7 May agreement, and no change to the protocol for drivers involved in a fatal collision. Renfe says it has met all the commitments of the 9 February agreement that ended the February strike, that 402 drivers have been hired, and that seven of the ten points fall outside its remit; it regrets a call that could affect thousands of travellers.