Spain High Speed Rail Strike Cuts Iryo Services

Published on Nov 26, 2025, 11:15 am CST

10 min read

Key points

Iryo staff will strike on November 25, 26, 27, and December 5 to 8, cutting some high speed rail services across Spain
Legally mandated minimum services keep about 73 percent of Iryo trains running, concentrating demand on fewer departures
Routes linking Madrid with Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Malaga, and Seville are most exposed to cancellations and crowding
Iryo is offering free rebooking or refunds for affected trains and has been shifting passengers to other departures since November 24
Travelers can switch to Renfe AVE and Ouigo services on many corridors but popular time slots may sell out quickly

Impact

Where Impacts Are Most Likely: Expect disruption on Iryo services starting, ending, or passing through Madrid, especially toward Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Malaga, and Seville
Best Times To Travel: Early morning or late evening departures that appear on Iryo's minimum service lists are more likely to run but will be busier than normal
Connections And Misconnect Risk: Avoid tight same day rail to rail or rail to flight connections and leave wide buffers at Madrid and Barcelona during strike dates
Onward Travel And Changes: If you have fixed appointments or tours then move the riskiest segments away from November 25 to 27 and December 5 to 8 where possible
What Travelers Should Do Now: Check your specific train against Iryo's strike timetables, accept rebooking offers quickly, and compare prices on Renfe and Ouigo

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Spain high speed rail strike at Iryo is thinning services between Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Malaga, and Seville on November 25 to 27 and again on December 5, 6, 7, and 8. Passengers using Iryo for business trips, holiday journeys, or long cross country connections now face fewer departure choices, fuller trains, and a higher chance of being shifted to other operators. Travelers should expect uneven timetables, allow extra time at major hubs, and be ready to rebook onto Renfe or Ouigo services where seats remain.

In practical terms, the Iryo strike on Spain's high speed rail network keeps about 73 percent of services running but concentrates demand on a reduced timetable, especially on Madrid centered routes that many late November and early December travelers rely on.

Strike Dates And Core Iryo Routes

Spain's main rail unions at Iryo, including CGT and Alferro, have called seven strike days that bracket the start of the winter holiday period and the Constitution and Immaculate Conception long weekend, specifically November 25, 26, and 27, then December 5, 6, 7, and 8. The action coincides with the operator's third anniversary, a symbolic choice that underlines worker frustration at how the company has handled pay scales and job classifications as it expanded.

Iryo is Spain's only fully privately capitalised high speed operator and runs modern trains on key domestic corridors that radiate from Madrid toward Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Malaga, Cordoba, and Seville. Those routes overlap heavily with Renfe's AVE services and SNCF backed Ouigo Spain, which means disruption at Iryo will not cut every departure on a given corridor but will remove specific trains and push more passengers onto the remaining options.

For now, the strike mainly affects on board crew, maintenance, customer contact centers, control rooms, and office staff rather than drivers, who already have a separate agreement. That structure makes it easier for the company to operate minimum services, but it also increases pressure on the staff who do work, so travelers should expect slower responses at call centers and help desks even when trains run.

Minimum Services And What 73 Percent Really Means

Spanish transport authorities have ordered Iryo to maintain 73 percent of planned services during strike days, and both the company and independent rail outlets report that this threshold is being met through resized crews and rescheduled trains. In practice, that means roughly one in four trains is canceled across the network, with the biggest cuts often falling on off peak departures and on lightly used segments beyond the busiest city pairs.

Spanish News Today and related regional outlets note that essential trains between cities like Alicante and Madrid will keep running, with Iryo structuring its strike timetable so that early morning and late afternoon slots are more likely to be preserved. On the Madrid to Barcelona and Madrid to Levante routes, travelers can expect the skeleton schedule to be densest at classic commuting and long distance travel peaks, while some middle of the day options disappear entirely.

The earlier Adept Traveler overview of the November 25 to 27 phase already highlighted that these stoppages operate for almost the full operating day, from just after midnight until late evening, so even a small percentage of cancellations can cascade into crowded platforms and heavy competition for remaining seats. The extension into the December 5 to 8 holiday block multiplies those pressures because many Spaniards plan long weekend trips around Constitution Day and the Immaculate Conception, often booking on the same high speed trains that visitors use to cross the country quickly.

Where Impacts Are Most Visible

Travel and rail industry reports agree that the routes most exposed to disruption are those where Iryo has captured a significant slice of a very busy market, above all Madrid to Barcelona, Madrid to Valencia, and Madrid to Alicante. Services toward Malaga, Cordoba, and Seville also face strain, particularly for weekend and holiday departures when Iryo has become a popular alternative to Renfe for both price and onboard experience.

Because the strike is concentrated on Madrid based operations, travelers making same day connections through the capital, for example flying into Madrid Barajas Airport and then taking a high speed train onward, are at particular risk if they rely on Iryo for the rail leg. Anyone using Madrid as a same day bridge between two trains, such as Barcelona to Madrid to Seville, should also be cautious about tight transfers on strike dates.

Crowding is likely to be most severe at traditional peak times, including Friday evening departures from Madrid and Barcelona, Sunday afternoon and evening returns, and the edges of the December holiday bridge when many people combine rail with intercity buses or flights. Even when your train is not canceled, you may find that luggage space and onboard seating feel noticeably tighter than normal as Iryo consolidates passengers onto the services that still run.

Alternatives On Renfe And Ouigo

Spain's high speed corridors are now shared between Iryo, state backed Renfe, and Ouigo Spain, the low cost arm of SNCF, which gives travelers meaningful alternatives on many city pairs. Renfe has recently shifted its low cost Avlo services off the core Madrid to Barcelona route, replacing them with additional AVE branded trains, a move that already reshuffled capacity and fares before the Iryo strike began.

On most strike dates, Renfe still operates a dense AVE timetable between Madrid and Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Malaga, and Seville, and Ouigo offers a smaller but growing set of departures on these same axes. However, neither operator is obliged to match Iryo's canceled trains one for one, and many travelers will only start shopping alternatives once they receive a cancellation notice, so popular departure times can sell out quickly or see sharp last minute price increases.

If you can be flexible, looking at earlier or later departures on the same day, or shifting your trip by a day to fall outside the strike windows, often unlocks better availability and pricing. Some travelers on short notice itineraries may find that a low cost flight roughly matches strike day train fares on the longest routes, such as Madrid to Barcelona or Madrid to Malaga, but airport transfers and security checks usually add time and complexity that trains avoid.

Within Adept Traveler's own coverage, the earlier piece on the first three strike days, published as Spain High Speed Rail Strike To Cut Madrid Trains Nov 25 27, remains a useful companion for mapping how Iryo's November timetable has been thinned and how Renfe and Ouigo have absorbed demand so far. This new update extends that analysis into December and zeroes in on what concrete steps travelers should take before the next wave of holiday traffic.

How To Rebook Or Change Iryo Tickets

Iryo has activated contingency plans that allow affected passengers to be moved to other departures or to cancel without penalty, with alternative bookings available from the morning of Monday November 24 onward. Company statements summarized in Spanish media stress that rebooking is the preferred option where space exists, although Iryo also offers refunds when travelers decide that the revised time no longer works.

Rail specialist outlet Trenvista reports that the 27 percent of trains removed from the timetable have been handled by offering passengers either a confirmed seat on another Iryo service or full ticket cancellation at no cost. In practice, that means that if you receive a notice that your train has been canceled, your first move should be to log into Iryo's app or website, or contact customer service, and accept one of the proposed alternatives before those seats are offered more widely.

If you booked through a third party agency or a rail pass provider, check their platform for updated schedules and change options, then verify any reissued ticket directly with Iryo or with the operator that will actually run your train. For complex itineraries that mix Iryo with Renfe, Ouigo, or other European operators, it can be worth splitting tickets so that the most exposed segment is on a flexible fare, even if that means a slightly higher price, because you gain the ability to move that leg if the strike schedule changes.

Why Iryo Workers Are Striking

Reporting from Spanish business daily Cinco Días and sector coverage at Travel And Tour World point to stalled negotiations over the first company wide collective agreement as the core trigger for the strike campaign. Unions argue that base salaries have effectively been frozen since operations began in 2022, that professional classifications do not match the range of duties staff are expected to perform, and that the company has leaned too heavily on a model where crew and maintenance workers are asked to handle multiple roles without matching pay.

Iryo counters that it has already tabled four economic proposals that improve base pay, variable compensation, bonuses, and working hours, including a transitional one year agreement intended to buy time for a longer term settlement. At the time of writing, the sides remain far apart, and both unions and management are using the visibility of the December holiday bridge to press their cases in public.

For travelers, the key takeaway is less about the internal details of the dispute and more about the likelihood that similar stoppages could recur if negotiations remain stuck. Spain has seen repeated rail and public transport strikes in recent years, and the liberalisation of high speed routes has layered new private actors into a system that was once dominated by a single state operator, which increases the number of separate labor fronts that can flare up.

Practical Planning For Late November And Early December Trips

If you already have an Iryo ticket on any of the seven strike days, start by checking whether your train number appears on the minimum service list or on the cancellation list once Iryo publishes updated timetables. Even if your train is currently shown as operating, consider moving to an earlier departure on the same day if you have a tight onward connection, because later trains have less slack if disruption ripples across the network.

Travelers still in the planning phase should decide whether they prefer to avoid the strike windows entirely or to build in enough flexibility to manage around them. For family or holiday trips that hinge on specific events, such as a concert or cruise sailing, the safest option is often to travel outside the November 25 to 27 and December 5 to 8 blocks, particularly on crowded axes like Madrid to Barcelona and Madrid to Valencia.

Finally, remember that Spain's December holidays can bring other pressure points, including highway congestion and bus demand that spikes when rail services wobble. Adept Traveler's broader look at December strike disruptions across Europe can help you see how this Iryo action interacts with airline, airport, and local transport strikes in Italy, France, Portugal, and beyond, so you can design an itinerary that minimizes exposure to overlapping problems.