Rail workers' unions end strike after Spain agrees to new safety measures

Spain's main unions for rail workers called off a three-day nationwide strike, which had started earlier on Monday, after authorities agreed to boost investments and reinforce staffing following a string of high-profile train accidents.



Last month, several consecutive derailments and crashes left dozens dead, sparking public scrutiny of the state of Spain's rail infrastructure. A January 18 high-speed rail crash in southern Andalusia killed 46 people while a derailment two days later in northeastern Catalonia killed a train driver.



The Spanish government will invest 1.8 billion euros ($2.15 billion) in railroad maintenance until 2030 and will hire 3,650 additional workers for the public-funded rail administrator and operator, Spain's Transport Ministry said in a statement.



It will also change the system that counts the number of hours worked by train drivers and increase the number of road vehicles used for maintenance work.