Rodalies train services in Catalonia halted after landslide in Vilanova

SEMAF halts the network after the accident between Vilanova i la Geltrú and Cubelles. Renfe warned at 6:40 AM and access to Barcelona is experiencing queues of up to 12.5 kilometres.

The Rodalies network in Catalonia woke up this Wednesday with virtually no service on most of its lines. The train drivers' union SEMAF informed Renfe in the early hours of the morning of its decision not to operate the trains due to the lack of safety certificates on several sections, as moncloa.com has learned. The final straw was the accident that occurred on Tuesday night between Vilanova i la Geltrú and Cubelles, when a landslide fell onto the tracks.

The R1, the Maresme line, is the most affected: no trains are running along its entire route. On the other lines, uncertainty reigns and no one can guarantee when the next train will pass, as it depends on whether the assigned driver ultimately decides to take the train.

Renfe acknowledged the disruption late. The first alert to users did not arrive until 6:40 AM, via WhatsApp and social media, stating that “due to circumstances beyond Rodalies” they could not “guarantee the provision of the service.” By that time, thousands of travellers were already on the platforms waiting for a train that was not going to arrive.

“The safety of the tracks is not a subjective matter and is not in the hands of any union”

The president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, responded from the Parliament with a message of firmness. Illa stated that the Generalitat is “investigating what happened” and criticized the union for leaving users without service.

The lack of trains has shifted all the pressure onto the roads. Access to Barcelona is experiencing record queues: 10 kilometres on the C-58, 7.5 on the Ronda de Dalt, another 7 on the Ronda Litoral, and 12.5 between El Papiol and Cornellà on the A-2. Additionally, the C-31 between L'Hospitalet and Vilafranca has 6.5 kilometres of delays heading towards the capital, and the B-23 has 4.5.

Bus services are also at their limit. In Mataró, buses on the e11 line connecting Maresme with Barcelona are arriving completely overwhelmed, and alternative buses that Renfe has improvised to cover part of the R1 are ending their routes there.

By mid-morning, the situation began to ease. SEMAF finally received the safety certificates from Renfe and Adif that it had been requesting since the early hours and announced that its members would take the trains “if everything is fine.” The network expects to recover 100% of the service throughout the day, although with no confirmed timetable.

This strike is not the first. The last one dates back to the storm Harry in January, the same episode that led to the fatal accident in Gelida. Since then, the relationship between the driving staff, Renfe, and Adif has been strained, reactivating every time it rains heavily. It has rained heavily in Catalonia: orange and red alerts for torrential rainfall have been issued in recent weeks, with roads closed in Tarragona and a dozen counties on alert.

The pattern repeats itself. Meteocat issues warnings, the network becomes saturated, the first landslide occurs, and the safety protocol turns into a battleground between the union and the operators. The underlying question is whether Rodalies is prepared for a climate that no longer behaves as it used to. The answer will be revealed to the user tomorrow when they check the timetable before leaving home.