'Unbearable' commuter train disruptions 'cannot continue like this'

Passengers of the Rodalies commuter train service claim that the situation "cannot continue like this, as it is unbearable," after a new disruption caused major delays in the R3 line for many hours on Tuesday morning. 

Around 6 am, authorities registered an issue with the electric system going from the northern municipality of Ripoll to Sant Quirze de Besora, located just a 16-minute train ride south. Hours later, the issue also affected passengers traveling to and from Torelló (30 minutes away from Ripoll.) 

Many people without a car rely on the train system to get to work or go to the doctor, affected passanger Patricia Soto told Catalan News Agency (ACN). She emphasized the importance of fixing the problem as soon as possible so that commuters can continue to be on time for these appointments.

After 11 am, technicians from Spain's track management Adif were able to fix the issue and trains slowly recovered its normal schedule. However, many travelers had already missed meetings or were forced to reschedule appointments.

"You keep on telling yourself, be patient, the train will be here any minute now, so you keep up, but in the end, you get disappointed," Soto said, as there was no updated information on the situation. 

These problems come a day after many commuters experienced 20-minute delays and longer due to other issues on the network. 

More problems in R2 and R11 

While R3 commuters experienced problems during the early hours of Tuesday, the R2 North and the R11 also suffered delays after part of the overhead line fell between Barcelona's Sant Andreu Comtal station and Montcada I Reixac, just outside the Catalan capital. 

"Every day it is the same, you arrive at the station and either there is no train, or it is delayed," Clara Ortega told ACN. Some commuters waited for over 45 minutes, only to be late to work or class. 

Meanwhile, Catalan president Pere Aragonès criticized the issues in the Rodalies commuter train network on social media X, formerly known as Twitter. 

"Once again, thousands of passengers have been affected by the disaster of Rodalies and the absent Spanish government," Aragonès wrote while calling for the management of the service to be transferred to the Catalan executive. 

He considered it "essential and urgent to fully transfer the service, its infrastructure, but also its financial resources to revert all these years of ignorance."  

831 "serious incidents" last year

The Catalan government has counted 831 "serious incidents" that affected the Rodalies network in 2022. The criteria for "serious incident" was any incident causing an excess of 100 minutes of accumulated delay. 

A report drawn up by the department of territory warns that the number of incidents has gradually increased in recent years.

The administration says that the incidents have negative consequences for the Catalan public transport system as a whole, as well as just the commuter rail network.

Yet, operating company Renfe responded to the executive, saying that the vast majority of passengers - 92% - travel with "absolute normality." 

Catalan government spokesperson Patrícia Plaja said in a press conference on Tuesday that last year 22,500 incidents were recorded.

On the other hand, Renfe say the rest of the 278,000, trains completed their journey without incident.

In a statement, Renfe points out that "important works" are being carried out on the Rodalies network that result in alterations to services, and these works mean that resolving incidents is slower than usual. 

Transfer of Rodalies, a priority for En Comú Podem

The transfer of control over the Rodalies network to the Catalan government is a priority for left-wing party En Comú Podem. Spokesperson David Cid says the party has raised the topic in negotiations to name Pedro Sánchez Prime Minister again.

Speaking at a press conference in the Catalan parliament, Cid said that left-wing coalition Sumar also shares this idea.

During the last legislature, Cid was critical of the management of the Rodalies network carried out by the Ministry of Transport under the Socialists.

However, he warned that "the transfer is not enough" and that "resources are also needed", which the Catalan government would have to provide.