Train crossed out, commuter service defeated

In any news about commuter rail, trains almost always depart covered in graffiti. Just this Tuesday, in the photo of the truck that ran into a convoy at the Brull level crossing, the first car was crossed out.

Yes, of course, the fact that trains run with graffiti is the least of the problems compared to delays, cancellations, journeys in sardine cans, stations with escalators that have been out of order for months, or journeys with speeds reminiscent of those of a century ago. But the ticket offices add the final touch of collective desolation. Seeing the train display its neglect wherever it goes is the ultimate symbol of a service abandoned to its own misery, with which everyone can do whatever they want because passenger comfort is indifferent to a company that has thrown in the towel and admitted defeat by having its equipment painted over.

It is understandable that it is difficult to put an end to the pathological obsessions of those who think they are Banksy when, in reality, they only know how to doodle, or who believe they are brave people who live dangerously because they dirty the carriages. But thinking about the new trains that will start arriving in a few months, and the recovery of the service, which will eventually come, the Cercanías railway company should ensure that the trains run clean and are well maintained, out of respect for the society that has paid them with its taxes, the workers, the passengers and the company itself.