Around 200 freight trains are cancelled today Friday due to strike action by a minority union. Spanish rail operator Renfe has said that the strikes are going ahead despite the recent signing of a new collective agreement with the majority unions.

On Friday 11 November, only 25 per cent of the regular number of freight trains expected to be on the rails. This translates to about 200 scrapped freight services on Friday, Renfe warns. This will stand to impact a host of large and medium-sized enterprises, as well as the supply chain as a whole, the operator says.

Not just freight

The impact on rail freight is humble compared to how passenger traffic is affected. Only 75 per cent of the Cercanías commuter services are expected to run during rush hour and only half of the normal number of trains outside of peak hours. Additionally, Renfe expects to be able to run only 65 per cent of the normal number of medium-distance trains and 72 percent of its long-distance trains.

There has been a lot of industrial action in the railway sector in recent months, most prominently in the United Kingdom, where the unions and the sector have been at odds for months. This has led to a number of strikes, including nationwide ones. There has also been industrial action in the Netherlands and most recently in Belgium and France.

This article was orginally published on RailTech.com, our sister publication.