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Spanish travelers face potential rail chaos on Friday

Xinhua, December 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

Travelers in Spain looking to get home for the start of the Christmas holidays face major problems as railway workers stage a one-day strike against privatization plans.

The strike has been called by the CGT union and begins at midnight local time on Thursday night (2300 GMT) and continues until 11 p.m. on Friday.

RENFE, the company which runs the trains on the Spanish railway system, confirmed there will be minimum services of 75 percent of trains running in the morning and evening rush hours, with 50 percent of the service operating during the rest of the day. The strike will affect local, medium and long distance services as well as the high-speed AVE network.

The strike is the latest in a series of strikes which have been held by workers at RENFE and ADIF, which runs the Spanish railway infrastructure, against what unions consider a "drift towards privatization," as well as the need for extra workers to be employed to ensure the safe running of Spain's railway network.

Although many people in Spain work until midday on Dec. 24, with Dec. 25 the only official holiday in many parts of the country, this weekend will see an increase in rail travel as many take a long Christmas holiday, while many students will also return home following their end of term.

RENFE are offering either refunds or ticket exchange for those who are affected by the strike. Endit