As we all know, on January 23, a high-speed AVE train derailed near Adamuz, between Cordoba and Malaga, killing 43 people and closing the only high-speed rail link between the Costa del Sol and Madrid. We wrote about what the derailment exposed: one corridor, no redundancy, and a region that had never stress-tested the assumption. If you missed it: Our One-Corridor Problem.

Since then, the families of those 43 people have been burying their dead, and our hearts and prayers are with them. Rail workers who run these lines every day watched colleagues die. That context matters more than any timetable, and it sits behind everything that follows.

This is an update on what has changed and what you need to know for this week.

When we last wrote, the reopening target was February 2. That slipped to February 7. As of last week, Transport Minister Oscar Puente could not commit to either date. The judge overseeing the investigation authorized track repairs on January 28, and the Transport Ministry estimated that ten days of work would follow from that point.

Here is the closest thing to a confirmed date: Renfe, Iryo, and Ouigo are now selling tickets from February 8 onward. That is not a government announcement. It is operators betting on a timeline. Plan accordingly.

This is the development that matters most for your week.

SEMAF, CCOO, and UGT have called 24-hour strikes across Renfe, Adif, and Logirail for February 9, 10, and 11. The trigger is not a labor dispute over pay. It is a direct response to the Adamuz crash and the Gelida incident near Barcelona. Rail workers are saying: the safety conditions that killed our colleagues have not been addressed.

That reframing matters. This is not disruption for disruption's sake. These are the people who operate the system, telling the government the system is not safe enough.

The best-case scenario for this week: one day of restored high-speed service (February 8) followed by three days of strike.

Here is the insight most coverage skips.

During a strike, Spanish law requires operators to maintain servicios minimos — minimum guaranteed services. The exact percentage gets published in the BOE (Boletin Oficial del Estado — Official State Gazette) 24-48 hours before the strike begins. In past rail strikes, minimum service has ranged from 25% to 75% of normal schedules, depending on the route and political pressure.

This means trains will run on February 9-11. Just fewer of them, on a schedule you cannot see yet.

What to do right now:

If you have travel planned for February 8-11, do not wait for the minimum service announcement. Book your backup route today. You already know the alternatives from our January 23 piece: Renfe emergency buses (three daily, roughly 5 hours, fixed at €40), flights (expect €100-130 by now, up from €90 two weeks ago), or one-way car rental (around €210 with fuel).

If your travel is tied to an appointment that cannot move, a consulate cita previa — prior appointment, a medical referral, a work meeting with someone who flew in, or travel on February 7 or 8 at the latest. Not the morning of. The January 23 piece made this point. It has not changed.

Two weeks ago, we framed Adamuz as revealing a structural vulnerability: one corridor, no backup, and an assumption nobody had tested. That was the infrastructure story.

The story developing now is different. It is about what happens when the people who operate critical systems lose confidence in those systems.

The unions are not asking for more money. They are asking for safety audits, maintenance investment, and accountability for the conditions that led to 43 deaths. If those demands are not met before February 9, the strikes proceed. If they are only partially met, expect rolling disruptions through February and March as negotiations continue.

This is the pattern that matters for anyone building a life here: Spain's infrastructure works well most of the time, but when it fails, the recovery is not mechanical. It is political, institutional, and slow. The rail will reopen. The safety debate will take longer. And the one-corridor problem we wrote about two weeks ago has not gotten any closer to being solved.

One phrase worth knowing this week:

Servicios minimos — minimum guaranteed services. Search "servicios minimos huelga trenes febrero 2026" when the BOE publishes the schedule. That search will give you the actual trains that are running on strike days, not speculation.

Best case: one day of high-speed service on February 8, then three days of strike with reduced schedules. Worst case: delays push the reopening past February 8, and the strike starts with no restored service. Book your backup route now if you have travel this week. Don't wait for the BOE announcement.

Not bad for a Monday — A. and the checking Renfe, refreshing BOE, keeping the bus schedule bookmarked WaypointSur team.