Rodalies commuter network will not normalize operations on Sunday after U-turn

Railway operator Adif has backtracked after announcing on Wednesday that service on the Rodalies commuter network would return to normal on Sunday. 

The company has corrected its statement, saying that "trains will resume to Montcada Bifurcació on Sunday", but with "commercial simulations", which means without passengers. 

These tests will be used to check the operation of the trains, and once the good condition and functioning of the facilities are determined, "the operator will announce the date for the reopening" of the most affected lines, the R3, R4, R7 and R12.

The announcement comes a month after a copper theft on May 12 caused widespread disruptions on all lines of the network.  

The copper theft, which took place at the Montcada Bifurcació station in Barcelona, caused an overvoltage in the electrification system, leading to several fires that caused a widespread collapse of the system.  

The repair work was initially estimated to take two months and cost €15 million. 

The copper theft coincided with the Catalan elections on May 12, causing such widespread disruption that politicians asked the electoral board to extend voting hours. 

The disruption led to days of mutual accusations between the Spanish government, the state-owned rail operator Adif, and the Catalan police, the Mossos d'Esquadra, over the protection of the tracks. 

Óscar Puente even suggested that "sabotage" could not be ruled out.