Valencia metro staff threaten further strikes

The industrial action, which unions said was taken by 98% of staff but which the public-sector-owned rail company estimated at 37%, or 700 employees, was scheduled to hit the first day back at school for nearly all pupils in the region.

Minimum services of 60% were required by the regional government during rush hour and 50% off-peak, which were maintained according to the letter, says the rail board, although nearly all trains were full to bursting.

Crowds were especially dense on the platforms at the most-frequented stations, such as Xàtiva, Colón and Ángel Guimerà, all of which are right in the centre and very close to the main inter-provincial rail station.

Valencia metro had gone back to its usual frequency on September 1 – over July and August, fewer trains run, the equivalent to the number on a Saturday the rest of the year – but peak passenger numbers were not due to have been reached until yesterday when schools restarted for the autumn term.

The strike is rooted in the application of the forthcmoing Rail Safety Law being drafted by the regional government, which staff fear may impose negative changes to their working conditions.

Staff committee chair Antonio Soler says if the company is willing to negotiate, they are 'ready and waiting', but if it does not, more strikes will be held next week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, September 18, 20 and 22 between 05.30 and 09.30 and again between 18.00 and 22.00, coinciding with the rush hour.

Even with minimum services, however, some parts of the day along some parts of the underground rail network were left with no trains for up to three hours – one of which was the Line 1 between Villanueva de Castellón and Empalme, where no links were running between the 19.21 and the 22.21 trains.