Spain High Speed Rail Strike To Cut Madrid Trains Nov 25 27

Published on Nov 25, 2025, 10:50 am CST

8 min read

Key points

High speed rail workers at Iryo will strike across Spain from November 25 to 27 with near 24 hour stoppages centered on Madrid based operations
Legally mandated minimum service will keep about 73 percent of Iryo trains running but key Madrid corridors will still see cancellations and crowding
Routes between Madrid and Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Malaga, and Seville face the most pressure as passengers shift to Renfe and Ouigo services
Strikes are already scheduled to resume from December 5 to 8 so holiday and business travelers should avoid peak days or build in extra flexibility
Iryo is offering alternative trains and rebooking for affected passengers but the best options may require moving trips to different times, days, or modes

Impact

Where Impacts Are Most Likely: Expect disruption on Iryo services that start, end, or pass through Madrid particularly toward Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Malaga, Cordoba, and Seville
Best Times To Travel: Early or late services that remain on the minimum service list are more likely to run but off peak trains may sell out quickly as Renfe and Ouigo absorb demand
Connections And Misconnect Risk: Allow wide buffers for same day rail to rail links in Madrid and avoid tight onward connections to flights or cruises that depend on an Iryo arrival
What Travelers Should Do Now: Check whether your specific train is confirmed, accept any rebooking offers quickly, price out Renfe or Ouigo alternatives, and consider switching to air on longer routes
Onward Travel And Changes: If you must keep fixed appointments, move the riskiest segments away from November 25 to 27 or the December 5 to 8 strike block and lock in flexible fares where possible

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A three day Iryo strike on Spain's high speed rail network through Madrid from November 25 to 27 is set to thin out services on some of the country's busiest corridors, especially those linking the capital with Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Malaga, and Seville. The walkout is led by unions including the General Confederation of Labor, CGT, and targets operations, maintenance, control rooms, call centers, and office staff across Iryo's network. Travelers who need specific departure times for holiday trips or business meetings now face fewer choices, fuller trains, and a higher risk of having to shift to Renfe or Ouigo or even to flights on long routes.

In practical terms, the Iryo strike in Spain will reduce high speed rail options through Madrid from November 25 to 27, despite a 73 percent minimum service requirement that keeps most trains running but still cancels roughly one in four departures.

Spanish strike trackers and corporate security advisories state that high speed railway workers will stage stoppages in Madrid from just after midnight until late evening on all three days, effectively creating 23 hour strike windows. Separate guidance from CGT and Spanish business media confirms that the November 25 to 27 block is only the first phase, with additional strike days already announced for December 5, 6, 7, and 8, overlapping the important Constitution Day and Immaculate Conception holidays.

What exactly is happening on Iryo

Iryo is Spain's first private high speed rail operator, running Frecciarossa 1000 trains on key domestic routes that radiate from Madrid to Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Malaga, and Seville, among others. Since launching in late 2022 it has taken a material share of traffic on the Madrid to Barcelona and Madrid to Levante and Andalusia corridors, so disruption at Iryo now matters well beyond a niche set of bargain hunters.

Unions CGT and Alferro called seven strike days for late November and early December after negotiations over Iryo's first collective agreement stalled, citing frozen base pay, workload concerns, and a multi function "360 degree" staffing model they say is not matched by proper job classifications or pay scales. The walkouts affect crew, maintenance, customer service centers, control room staff, and office workers at all sites.

The Ministry of Transport has issued a minimum service resolution that obliges Iryo to keep 73 percent of services running, a figure that the company confirms it will meet through contingency plans and rerostering. Importantly for travelers, Iryo stresses that train drivers are not part of this strike because they already have a separate agreement in place, which means the constraint is staffing and maintenance rather than a complete halt to train operations.

Iryo says it has begun contacting affected passengers and is offering alternative trains starting from 6:00 a.m. on November 24, with priority given to those whose original departures fall entirely within the strike window. Official and corporate travel alerts, including advisories circulated to global business travelers, now warn of disruptions on November 25, 26, and 27 and again in early December.

Which routes are most exposed

Spain's high speed network is strongly radial, with Madrid at the center, and Iryo's own map reflects that. Core services include Madrid to Barcelona via Zaragoza and Tarragona, Madrid to Valencia via Cuenca, Madrid to Alicante via Cuenca and Albacete, and Madrid to Malaga and Seville via Cordoba.

Because the strike is built around 24 hour stoppages in Madrid based operations, the highest risk trains are those that originate, terminate, or reverse in Madrid Puerta de Atocha Almudena Grandes or Madrid Chamartín Clara Campoamor. Travelers should expect:

Fewer daily departures between Madrid and Barcelona, with remaining trains likely to leave at near full load and less same day flexibility.
Squeezed options on Madrid to Valencia and Madrid to Alicante, which also serve Cuenca and Albacete and have become popular with price sensitive travelers.
Reduced choice and possible retiming on Madrid to Malaga and Madrid to Seville runs via Cordoba, where high speed competition from Renfe and Ouigo is now intense but capacity on specific time slots is finite.

Secondary impacts will ripple into the cross country legs that use Madrid as a through point, for example Barcelona to Seville and Barcelona to Malaga services that call in Madrid en route. Even where trains still operate, reservations can be constrained, especially for families or groups that need to sit together.

How minimum service works in practice

Background

Under Spanish law, transport strikes are often paired with government mandated "servicios mínimos" that preserve a defined share of journeys to protect essential mobility. For Iryo's November and December strike days, that threshold is set at 73 percent of normal services, meaning roughly three in four trains must run, though not necessarily at the same times passengers originally booked.

In practice, operators usually prioritize early morning and evening trains, plus departures that carry large commuter or business flows. Midday and off peak services, and some trains with intermediate stops that can be consolidated into a smaller number of departures, are more likely to be canceled or combined.

Because Iryo's train drivers are still working, the company has operational flexibility to redesign the timetable around the minimum service list rather than suspend whole lines. The constraints instead show up in maintenance turnarounds, on board staffing, and control room capacity. That is why the overall network will still function but with fewer trains and tighter margins for delay recovery.

Renfe, Ouigo, and when to switch modes

Spain's national operator Renfe, its low cost spinoff Avlo, and French backed competitor Ouigo all run substantial high speed services on the same corridors where Iryo has gained ground. During a strike that leaves one in four Iryo trains off the board, travelers will try to absorb the shock by shifting bookings to those rivals, especially on:

Madrid to Barcelona via Zaragoza.
Madrid to Valencia and Alicante.
Madrid to Malaga and Madrid to Seville via Cordoba.

That shuffle will not be gentle. Close in fares on Renfe, Avlo, and Ouigo are likely to spike as cheaper inventory sells out, and some departures around commuter peaks and holiday getaway periods may max out completely. Travelers who absolutely must move on specific dates should look at air as a backstop on longer legs such as Madrid to Barcelona or Seville, especially if they need to protect onward international flights or cruises.

For shorter hops, such as Madrid to Valencia, sticking with rail but shifting to a different departure day or time usually remains the better option, both on cost and on door to door convenience.

Concrete strategies for travelers

If you already hold an Iryo ticket dated November 25, 26, or 27, your first step is to check the company's strike information page or your booking account to see whether your specific train is confirmed or canceled. If Iryo has offered an alternative departure, accept or modify it quickly, since attractive time slots will fill. If the automatically proposed new time does not work, look at surrounding departures on the same day, then on adjacent days, then at competing operators.

Where you have a tight same day connection in Madrid, such as a morning Iryo arrival into Madrid Puerta de Atocha with an afternoon long haul flight from Adolfo Suárez Madrid Barajas Airport, adding buffer is critical. When minimum services are in play, a single delay or equipment failure can cascade more easily through the timetable. Moving the rail leg earlier, or overnighting in Madrid and flying the next morning, may be safer than trying to force a risky same day link.

Travelers still in the planning phase should, wherever possible, avoid booking Iryo on November 25, 26, 27, and again on December 5, 6, 7, and 8, unless they can tolerate disruption or have fallback options. Where dates are fixed, consider:

Booking flexible or refundable fares on Renfe, Avlo, or Ouigo so you can swap trains if the pattern of disruption changes.
Leaving generous gaps between arrival and any time sensitive commitments.
Using direct point to point flights on longer routes if you need maximal control over timing, while still monitoring airport conditions.

For travelers who want a deeper structural view of how Spanish rail strikes and minimum service rules work, and how they compare with strikes in Italy and France, Adept Traveler will continue to build out evergreen coverage that ties these operational alerts into a broader decision playbook for rail based trips across Europe.