Train drivers in Spain announced a three-day strike in February on Wednesday after two recent railway accidents that resulted in 44 deaths, LETA reported citing AFP.
On Tuesday in Catalonia, a train driver was killed in a railway accident, and another 37 people were injured.
The accident occurred at a time when three days of national mourning had already been declared in Spain for the victims of a collision between two high-speed trains that happened on Sunday in Andalusia. In that disaster, 43 people died — the largest railway tragedy in the country in more than a decade.
These tragedies have raised doubts about the safety of rail transport in Spain, which prides itself on having the second-largest high-speed train network in the world and has seen huge investments in recent years.
The strike will take place from February 9 to 11 and will affect all railway companies. This is "the only legal way left for workers to demand the restoration of safety in the railway system" for staff and users, the train drivers' union Semaf stated.
The union noted that both accidents have become a "turning point" after numerous reports of "poor track conditions" went unaddressed for "months, if not years."
"We understand the mood and demands of the train drivers, but we do not agree that a general strike is the best way to express them," said Transport Minister Oscar Puente at a press conference in Madrid.
Earlier in an interview, the minister emphasized that the two accidents are "completely unrelated to each other."
