Train travel in Spain is having a rough week. A 24-hour strike by Renfe drivers opened three straight days of rail chaos on Tuesday 10 November, knocking out several Madrid commuter lines and disrupting Rodalies suburban services across Catalonia.
The walkout, called by the drivers' union SEMAF, hit hardest on Madrid's Cercanías network. Lines C-2, C-3, C-4, C-5 and C-8 did not run at all, with only the occasional train moving on C-1, C-7 and C-10. In Catalonia, Rodalies warned that minimum service levels were not being met and told passengers to find alternative transport. Renfe itself urged people to avoid non-essential trips and said it was offering free changes and cancellations on affected tickets.
And it doesn't stop there. Wednesday 11 November brings a general strike — tied to Spain's housing crisis and coming ahead of an election — which is expected to disrupt rail services again. Renfe drivers are then out once more on Thursday, and a wider railway strike is already pencilled in for Tuesday 17 November. In short: if you're travelling by train in Spain this week and into next, expect delays, cancellations and very limited rebooking availability.
For anyone holding a Renfe ticket, the practical advice is simple. Check Renfe's official channels and the Cercanías or Rodalies accounts before heading to a station, keep an eye on announcements about minimum services, and don't count on a smooth fallback — the operator has warned that rebooking options are scarce on strike days. If your journey is time-sensitive, consider buses, flights or driving instead, and take advantage of the free changes and cancellations Renfe is offering rather than gambling on your train running.
This matters most for travellers using suburban and commuter rail in Madrid and Barcelona, which is also where most visitors feel strike disruption first — airport connections in Madrid run on the Cercanías network, for example. Long-distance AVE and Avlo services can also be affected on strike days, though usually less severely than commuter lines thanks to minimum service rules. With a general strike sandwiched between driver walkouts, even travellers not directly riding Renfe could find stations picketed, metro and buses busier, and city transport patchy on Wednesday.
The bottom line for holidaymakers: build buffer time into any rail journey in Spain over the next week, rebook or refund early if your plans are flexible, and follow Renfe's social accounts for real-time updates. Anyone travelling on or around Tuesday 17 November should assume disruption is likely and have a plan B ready.
