Spain’s rail network is struggling to cope with systemic failures that have left passengers fuming. Despite a massive €23.8billion (£20billion) investment in the network in recent years, rail travellers have seen a deterioration in services.
The railways have been beset by a litany of problems, including recurring breakdowns, mounting delays and a growing number of corruption cases against senior officials. Earlier in May, passengers were left stranded for hours without water or ventilation on halted trains, following a suspected sabotage on the Madrid–Sevilla high-speed line.
More than 30 trains were affected in the incident, leaving over 10,000 passengers in limbo.
Furious passengers posted images of the travel chaos to their social media accounts, which quickly went viral.
The chaos reignited heated debates about the state of the country’s railways, with the finger of blame pointed squarely at Spain’s government.
The far-right Vox party has already called for Transport Minister Óscar Puente to resign.
While Alberto Núñez Feijóo – the leader of the right-wing party Partido Popular – noted: “In any other European country, someone would have resigned.”
Spaniards are all too wearily aware that the May rail disruption was not a one off incident.
Last September, a train travelling on the Madrid-Barcelona high-speed line was derailed as a result of a signalling failure.
The derailment caused delays of up to four hours as engineers struggled to fix the problem.
The poor state of the railways comes despite huge government investments in the network in recent years.
Spain’s leftwing government placed rail modernisation at the heart of its post-COVID recovery plan, aiming for “sustainable, safe and connected mobility.”
Earlier this year, Puente announced a record €10 billion investment in the country’s transportation system.
ADIF, Spain’s national railway infrastructure operator, received €6.9 billion in 2024 and 2025 – more than any other entity.
Spain’s Transport Minister has robustly defended the rail system, calling it “a model of success” that could be “exported everywhere”.