Malaga's metro breaks its passenger record during Easter despite the strike

The Málaga metro closed the Holy Week of 2026 with the best user record in its history, nearly reaching 720,000 passengers (specifically, 719,853) from Good Friday to Easter Sunday.

The Regional Ministry of Development has provided a review of the past days, which see one of the highest demands of the year, achieving a slight increase of 0.2% compared to 2025 (when 718,185 were recorded).

This figure gains special significance, as the Holy Week on this transport was marked by partial service strikes on crucial days. Specifically, during Monday, Wednesday, and Holy Thursday, there were several strike intervals by workers fighting for their new collective agreement.

On Holy Monday, the effects of the strike resulted in a loss of about 10,000 passengers compared to the same day the previous year

These mobilizations, widely supported by the staff, reduced the frequency of service during the three hours of highest demand each day, specifically when descending to the processions from the neighborhoods. The greatest impact was recorded on Holy Monday, when thousands of Malagueños tried to take the subway to reach the procession of the Captive, followed by Holy Thursday.

Unstoppable demand

Despite significant inconveniences, delays, and overcrowding, the demand remained strong. "Despite the reduced frequency during the partial strike periods, the response from the citizens has remained," state sources from the Junta.

Over these ten days, the daily average was 71,900 travelers, with particularly high peaks on central days. Holy Monday again saw the highest turnout, with 103,518; followed by Holy Thursday, which recorded 95,234. Easter Sunday, for its part, experienced one of the highest relative increases, with a rise of 22.6% compared to the previous year, reaching 32,268 travelers.

The operation included the traditional 68-hour non-stop service from Wednesday to Friday; in addition to extended hours into the early morning on various days. The Atarazanas and Guadalmedina stations, due to their proximity to the official route, concentrated a large part of the passenger flow and again acted as key nodes in the network.

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The Metro de Málaga concessionaire, dependent on the Public Works Agency of the Andalusian Regional Government, also strengthened both the line personnel and security and surveillance devices. During nighttime hours, all units had security personnel present, in a context of high demand and large influx of travelers, which, combined with crowding at times, led to some moments of tension, but without major consequences.

The conflict continues

Despite the good results, the truth is that the collective conflict has not been resolved and continues. Last week, the company committee assessed the success of the calls and the unity of the workers in claiming the improvements demanded by the unions.

The day with the greatest impact was Holy Monday, when no less than 10,000 validations were lost due to this situation. Specifically, it went from 113,880 in 2025 to 103,571 this year. The mobilizations, which caused significant queues and delays to get on the crowded carriages, deterred many citizens, who opted for other means or simply to return home.

In conclusion, had it not been for the protests, the metro's operating results during this period would have been significantly higher.