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Train drivers across Spain walked off the job on Tuesday, causing widespread travel disruption as they demanded more investment in maintenance and safety in a strike that follows the country's second fatal rail crash this year.
It follows last week’s announcement that Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had appointed his deputy, Carlos Cuerpo, to provisionally run the Transport Ministry after Oscar Puente resigned over the two crashes on the same high-speed Madrid-Seville line this year, which killed a combined 115 people.
About 40 per cent of long- and medium-distance services were cancelled, affecting 4,042 passengers, state train operator Renfe said.
In Madrid, 90 per cent of services on the capital's commuter network were cancelled, while 50 per cent of Barcelona's local services did not run.
"This is chaos," Candida Hiciano, 60, said as she tried to catch a train at Madrid's Atocha station.
"Anyway, we're going to try to get to work come what may."
Commuters in Leganes, near Madrid, had to take buses to reach the city centre.
At least five lines on the city's local commuter train network were not operating, and another three had partial service, according to state operator Cercanias.
