Semaf calls 17 November rail strike across eight operators as Ouigo walkout ends

A new strike day on 17 November

Semaf, the Spanish railway drivers' union, has called a strike on its own for Tuesday, 17 November, covering the drivers of eight operators: Renfe, Iryo, Ouigo, Transfesa, Continental Rail, Tracción Rail, Captrain and Medway. The union announced the call on Thursday, 5 November, on top of its participation in a joint strike by the works councils of Renfe and Adif. Semaf also backs the Renfe group strike on Tuesday, 10 November, a 24-hour stoppage, and the action on Thursday, 12 November, which runs in three time slots that day. The union links this wave to a stoppage on 29 October, the day after a railway accident at Urda in Toledo, which it says was caused by a serious failure of the LZB train control system.

Origins of the dispute

On 9 February 2026, Semaf signed an agreement with the Ministry of Transport and the presidents of Renfe and Adif that called off strikes planned for 10 and 11 February. The pact created multidisciplinary working groups to draft and put in place new rules and operating procedures on rail safety. In a statement, the union said:

“Such a pact provided for setting up multidisciplinary working groups tasked with drafting and implementing new regulations and operating procedures in favour of railway safety.”

Since then, according to the union, the administration and the public rail companies have repeatedly postponed meetings without any progress, and they have not even convened the follow-up commission for the agreement.

The Ouigo agreement

Semaf and Ouigo reached an agreement on Thursday, 5 November, that calls off the strikes planned for 6 and 9 November and for 4 and 8 December 2026, days that coincide with the bridge holidays of Almudena and the Constitution. Ouigo said all its trains on those four days will run normally, and it welcomed the deal and the importance of dialogue with worker representatives. Semaf told EFE the accord covers its full set of demands, which the union said concern pay and working conditions. Ouigo had cancelled all its scheduled trains on Friday, 30 October and on Monday, 2 November, affecting almost 20,000 travellers and 40 trains. On Wednesday, 4 November, the operator had also extended cancellations of its Madrid to Andalusia high-speed services until at least 15 November, and passengers were told their full ticket refunds were guaranteed.

Talks with the minister

Carlos Cuerpo, who holds the economic vice-presidency and became transport minister after Óscar Puente resigned, called Semaf, Renfe president Álvaro Fernández and the department's number two, José Antonio Santano, to a meeting on Thursday, 5 November at 16:00. The session was framed as a first point of contact, and Semaf said it ended without progress on the drivers' demands. The ministry has summoned the union again for Friday, 6 November, ahead of the 17 November walkout. Semaf wants concrete and verifiable measures before it lifts its stoppages. Cuerpo's stated aim is to meet other unions as well, starting with Semaf as one of the relevant actors at present.

Key dates

The sequence since February runs through a run of cancellations, a failed follow-up and a series of dated walkouts, as shown below.

The next dated step is the Renfe strike on 10 November, followed by the Semaf-only walkout at eight operators on 17 November.