Rodalies train service restored after morning of disruptions on lines south of Barcelona
Yet another breakdown sparks renewed complaints regarding state of infrastructure
Rodalies Renfe commuter train service on the R2 and R13, R14, R15, R16, and R17 lines south of Barcelona is, as of midday on Friday, slowly being restored after a morning of disruptions.
An overhead line breakdown between Sant Vicenç de Calders and Vilanova i la Geltrú, coupled with a signaling system malfunction, forced trains to run on only one of the tracks, causing up to 1-hour delays.
"Notable delays with the progressive restoration of usual service," Rodalies tweeted shortly before 1 pm.
📢#ATENCIÓ
— Rodalies Catalunya (@rodalies) September 16, 2022
🚆🟢R2, R2 Sud, R13, R14, R15, R16 i R17: Restablerta circulació per totes dues vies entre Vilanova i St. Vicenç de Calders. Afectacions destacables amb normalització progressiva del servei habitual.
Spanish transport minister Raquel Sánchez, who was in Barcelona on Friday to reveal plans to improve the Catalan capital's Sants train station, apologized for the delays.
"These happen elsewhere as well," she said, implicitly referring to a grievance echoed by certain Catalan politicians who argue Catalonia pays Spain more in taxes than it receives back in investment and therefore its infrastructure has not been sufficiently renovated.
Frequent delays, frequent complaints
This incident is but one in a long string of breakdowns – from a telecommunications system failure last Friday that left 80,000 stranded for hours to train crashes – sparking renewed complaints concerning the state of railway infrastructure in Catalonia.
Josep Màsich, a passenger affected by the disruptions, told the Catalan News Agency (ACN) that he found the service "pitiful."
"They tell us there are free tickets but when it comes down to it it's a mess because you have to take a bus or another service because public transport is truly awful," he said, adding that he "taxes and fares just to always end up in this situation," before hopping on a bus to get to his final destination.
Others, like Ainhoa Rodríguez, recounted having to wait an hour for the train to Castelló, while others, like Cecilia Mguema, lamented what they described as insufficient information on service updates from Rodalies.
"Today we have no idea when the train's even going to leave. I have no idea when I'll get to my destination," Mguema said. "I'm going to go see my family, but I don't even know if I should because we have no information and all I can do is wait."
Catalan authorities have long called on Spain to allocate more money towards infrastructure improvements in Catalonia, with some even arguing that managing it from Barcelona would improve the service.
Upcoming renovation work
The Rodalies network will see some improvements in the coming months at the new Sagrera station in Barcelona, but not without at least temporary disruptions.
In particular, three lines, R1, R2N, and R11, will be affected for at least three months as construction enters its "most complex" phase.
Almost a fifth of all commuters use these lines on average workdays.
Free train tickets
As of September 1 and until at least December 31, quarterly passes for short and medium-distance Rodalies lines are free - a measure implemented by the Spanish government to encourage the use of public transport in the face of elevated fuel costs.