Catalonia faces this Sunday without Rodalies service after a week of chaos | News from Catalonia

This Sunday, Catalonia faces another day without Rodalies service and it has already been five days this week. This Saturday, the Generalitat ordered Renfe, through a resolution, to cancel all and Media Distancia de Catalunya. The decision was made at noon due to the lack of “conditions to ensure safe mobility.” The Generalitat, Renfe and Adif are working to reopen almost all of the Rodalies lines in Catalonia this Monday, although the drivers themselves and the Government have decided on the 13 Rodalies lines. EL PAÍS has had access to one of the forecasts that this Sunday is being prepared to launch the service starting Monday morning.

The Rodalies de Catalunya service transports nearly 400,000 passengers every day, passengers who are suffering from an unprecedented mobility crisis. The Generalitat has reinforced the usual interurban bus lines and incorporated more buses “to absorb those users who cannot be using Rodalies.” The Government, Adif and Renfe remain meeting this Sunday in the Territory department. Meanwhile, Oriol Junqueras, president of Esquerra Republicana, has requested in a press conference for his “manifest inability” to face and explain the Rodalies crisis.

At the moment, the forecast is that the R1 trains – which connects Molins de Rei with Massanet along the coast – will leave this Monday every 30 minutes between L’Hospitalet and Blanes and every 15 minutes between L’Hospitalet and Mataró. The section between Blanes and Massanet will continue to be cut. The R2 will not be connected between the R2 Nord and the R2 Sud. The R3 – which connects L’Hospitalet with Puigcerdà passing through Vic and Ripoll – has been cut by doubling works since last October and until 2027. Since then, the route has been carried out by buses on a good part of the line. The R4, precisely where the Gelida accident occurred, will be greatly affected. The section between Sant Sadurní d’Anoia and Martorells Central is eliminated due to the accident, but also the section between Terrassa-Estació Nord and Manresa as it is considered dangerous. These sections will foreseeably be carried out by buses. The R11 between Barcelona Sants and Portbou suspends the section between Figueres and Portbou as it is considered a dangerous point. The section between Cervera and Terrassa-Estació del Nord of RL4 is also eliminated. The southern regional routes between Aragón and Reus and between Vinaixa and Sant Vicenç de Calders and between Vinaixa and Reus will not work either. These are the forecasts that Renfe is considering.

and that citizens will be informed, in time, of what will happen on Monday. is to review the state of the infrastructure and prevent new landslides from causing accidents. According to Sílvia Paneque, Territori advisor and Government spokesperson, the traffic cut allows technicians to work “with more comfort.” The Government, Renfe and Adif are meeting this Sunday in the Territori department to analyze the emergency situation and its possible solution.

is to review the state of the infrastructure and prevent new landslides from causing accidents. According to Sílvia Paneque, spokesperson for the Government, the traffic cut allows technicians to work “with more comfort.” There is no forecast for the restoration of circulation, which the advisor to the Presidency, Albert Dalmau, has only said that it will occur “in the quickest period of time, gradually.”

that have fallen in Catalonia in recent weeks and new chapters of landslides, despite the certificates of operation presented by Adif and Renfe, have made the Government tighten precautions and it has been commissioned to inspect and secure 21 points that are considered risky, two critical. Pere Macias, commissioner for the transfer of Rodalies, clarified this Sunday that the problem detected in Badalona has been 100% solved, guaranteeing the stability of the tracks, but he has not commented on the rest. In statements to Rac1, Macias said that they were surprised that Renfe activated the Rodalies service when it had been agreed to cancel it at dawn and that now, with that suspension, the correct instruction has been taken.

Given the suspension of the service, the Generalitat, owner of the Rodalies network and which is waiting to participate in its complete management through a shared company with Renfe, has decided to put 170 coaches on the road to provide an alternative service to the rail service. The Government has also agreed to boost the frequencies of the Generalitat Railway lines on those lines that can replace those of Rodalies – in those of the Vallès regions and in part of Baix Llobregat – and to suspend the low emissions zone of the metropolitan area of ​​Barcelona, ​​so that the most polluting vehicles can circulate. The mayor of Sant Cugat, Josep Maria Vallès (Junts), has requested that the Vallvidrera tunnels be made free of charge while the Rodalies crisis lasts, which link Vallès with Barcelona.

“The service in Rodalies is poor. I have never denied it. The infrastructure is very old and has been abandoned for many years. In the last five years we have invested an average of 500 million per year,” he explained.

It all starts on Tuesday, January 20. when a Rodalies train that was circulating between the stations of Sant Sadurní d’Anoia and Sant Sadurní d’Anoia last Tuesday night derailed. The convoy ran into a retaining wall that had fallen on the road, apparently due to the wear and tear generated by the heavy rains of recent days.