Chaos and uncertainty among passengers at Sants station after power outage 

People are experiencing chaos and uncertainty at Barcelona's Sants train station due to Monday's power outage. After the events, Sants is full of people who were unable to travel on Monday, arrived early this morning, or were forced to spend the night at the station.  

High-speed trains are not running normally and are experiencing long waiting lines to access these trains in particular.  

Catalonia's commuter rail service, Rodalies, remains suspended, leaving many people in the lobby looking for alternatives.  

First time taking the bus 

In Vilanova i la Geltrú, around 40-minute drive south from Barcelona, many opted for the express bus lines that connect the town with the Catalan capital. At the Vilanova i la Geltrú bus station, Rodalies users were trying to figure out which bus line could get them close to work or their place of study amid widespread confusion.  

"What’s happened these past two days is just another disaster," Anabel, one of the passengers, said describing the situation with "resignation and anger."  

One of the issues first-time bus users ran into was the lack of cash to buy tickets. This became a major issue for many Rodalies users, especially those without a T-Mobilitat card, as they usually travel with a Renfe commuter pass. 

Many lines started forming on Tuesday at 7 am at the Vilanova bus station for the express buses heading to Barcelona. The lines saw regular bus passengers and commuters from the rail network, as the Rodalies service is completely halted.  

Montse, for example, was supposed to be at work at a high school in Barcelona by 9 am, “but that’ll be totally impossible,” she said. On Monday night, she only arrived home after 10 pm, following a long afternoon of bus rides and walking across Barcelona. "I do not normally travel by bus, and I just wanted to come here to see what to do. But I do not know which bus I need to get or where I am going," she said. 

The problems also hit tourists: Selma, from Zurich, who is visiting Catalonia with her mother told the Catalan News Agency (ACN): "I was on holiday here with my mum. We just wanted to go back home to Zurich, and we were here, there are no trains, and now we are trying to find a solution." 

Fewer users in Mataró 

The Catalan News Agency (ACN) also visited Mataró’s bus stations early Tuesday morning.  

At Plaça de Granollers, where two express bus lines depart for Barcelona, the turnout was noticeably lower than on previous days of Rodalies disruptions in comparison to Vilanova i la Geltrú. 

Some regular commuters attributed the drop in passengers to class cancellations at several Barcelona universities, while others pointed to an increase in bus services, which may have helped absorb demand more effectively.