Train drivers strike in Spain after two deadly crashes in a year

MADRID/BARCELONA, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Spanish train drivers went on strike on Tuesday to demand more investment in maintenance after Spain's second major rail crash this year, but delayed a further strike planned for Thursday after the government approved a package of safety measures.

Still, services will be disrupted on Wednesday during a 24-hour nationwide walkout called by unions to increase pressure on political leaders over Spain's housing crisis ahead of a snap election on November 29. Further train strikes are planned for November 17 and 23.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez last week appointed his deputy, Carlos Cuerpo, to provisionally run the Transport Ministry after Oscar Puente resigned over two fatal crashes on the same high-speed Madrid-Seville line this year which killed 115 people.

After negotiations with train drivers' union Semaf, Spain's cabinet on Tuesday approved measures including improved channels for railway staff to communicate safety concerns and more autonomy to take decisions such as stopping or not restarting a train if they detect a risk in doing so.

It also created an ombudsman position for victims of public transport accidents.

"Given this real change of heart by the government... Semaf has decided to replace the strike planned for November 12 with a new strike on November 23," the union said in a statement.

'THIS IS CHAOS'

About 40% of long- and medium-distance services were cancelled on Tuesday, affecting 4,042 passengers, state train operator Renfe said, while 90% of services on Madrid's commuter network and 50% of Barcelona's local services were cancelled.

"This is chaos," said Candida Hiciano, 60, 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."

In the Catalonia region, operator Rodalies said trains were running late due to non-compliance with requirements for a minimum service. At Masnou station, on the outskirts of Barcelona, just a few people could be seen waiting for the intermittent service.

Semaf said its drivers were respecting the minimum service quotas established by the government, adding that delays were caused by poor management of the programmed trains.

EARLIER TALKS OVER SAFETY ABANDONED IN APRIL, UNION SAYS

Talks with the government to improve safety on Spain's high-speed network, Europe's most extensive, began after a crash in southern Spain in January that killed 46 people, but were abandoned in April, according to the train drivers' union.

The second collision last month occurred after a controller ordered a train operated by state-owned Renfe to continue following a signal failure, even though there was a stationary Iryo-operated train further ahead on the same line, according to Puente. 

King Felipe VI and his wife Letizia joined relatives of the victims of last month's crash, in which 69 people died, at a funeral in Toledo's cathedral in central Spain on Tuesday.

Sanchez did not attend, saying he did not attend religious services as a rule, drawing a rebuke from the conservative opposition, which accused the prime minister of cowardice.

(Reporting by Meriem Tourabi, Albert Gea, Guillermo Martinez, Victoria Waldersee and Emma Pinedo; Writing by Charlie Devereux, Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Jan Harvey, Joe Bavier and Gareth Jones)