R3 commuter rail services resume after incident that forced evacuations

Normal services on the R3 commuter train route are back in operation after an electrical storm caused an incident on Tuesday evening.

The incident was initially resolved on Wednesday morning and normal services were expected to resume but Renfe reported that a "problem arose" when removing the damaged train from the infrastructure. This train has now been removed and normal services are back.

The route was closed between Torelló and Manlleu on Tuesday evening after a breakdown caused a train to stop near the Torelló station with a hundred passengers trapped inside.

Four fire brigades had to evacuate the passengers safely and Renfe took them to their destination by bus.  

Renfe sources have indicated that the damage on the overhead line has already been repaired and that work is underway to remove the affected train.

In the nearby town of Vic, rain forced the fire brigade to attend to some 20 incidencets due to flooding of some squares and streets.

Indignation among commuters

Dozens of R3 users waited impatiently at the Torelló station this morning after a breakdown in services interrupted the service between Vic and Torelló.

An alternative bus service was offered, but the connection was also not working from there.

"The train has failed, it always fails," one angry passenger, Francisco, lamented, after getting up at 6 am to go to work in Puigcerdà. He feels especially "outraged" at the lack of information given to passengers, meaning he will not make it to work on time.

Last month, he also witnessed the fire in the Manlleu station. “Something needs to be done, should we wait for a disaster to happen?” he asked.