Let me start with a piece of news that shouldn't be news, but you'll soon understand why I'm opening the analysis with it: 50 days after the fatal accident in Gelida, Trains ran between Ripoll and La Garriga this morning.For now, there will be one train per direction every hour, with speed limits on sections where risks still exist. The alternative road service that has been in place for the last month and a half will continue. Applause, and that's about it.

Today marks one month since the Gelida accident in which a trainee train driver died, which definitively plunged Cercanías into chaos, courtesy of Renfe, Adif and the Ministry of Transport (and which, by the way, significantly affected the AP-7).

This Friday marks one month since the tragic Gelida train accident On the night of Tuesday, January 20, 2026, a commuter train derailed near Gelida, on the R4 line between Martorell and Sant Sadurní d'Anoia. The accident resulted in the death of a young trainee train driver and left five people seriously injured after a retaining wall collapsed onto the tracks. The accident caused a complete shutdown of the line and affected hundreds of passengers, highlighting the fragility of a railway infrastructure marked by decades of underinvestment and an aging train fleet.

The political truce that prevailed during the first hours of the Adamuz and Gelida tragedy is now history. As the days have passed, the PP's discourse has become increasingly... in crescendo When it comes to demanding accountability for the accidents, which have been compounded by the railway chaos in Catalonia and the AVE high-speed train speed restrictions, the PP's leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, directly blamed Spanish President Pedro Sánchez for the accidents on Wednesday and predicted that his government "will be in the dock" for the train tragedy. "They played Russian roulette with our safety; this was an avoidable accident, not an unforeseeable catastrophe," the PP leader declared. He said this after Sánchez appeared before Congress to explain his government's handling of the accidents, in which he defended the Andalusian case, stating that all maintenance controls were "scrupulously" followed, although he acknowledged that protocols "are not infallible" and that quality standards are not always met.

Two train accidents with 46 deaths and rail chaos in Catalonia. These were the two issues that Transport Minister Óscar Puente was forced to address before the Senate on Thursday, at the urging of the People's Party. His appearance followed the expected script—the minister defended his handling of the situation—but gradually became increasingly heated. According to Puente, neither the Adamuz accident, which claimed 45 lives, nor the Gelida accident, which resulted in the death of a train driver, was related to the maintenance of the rail network carried out by Adif and his ministry. However, regarding the recent chaos on Catalan trains, the Transport Minister offered some self-criticism. "The commuter rail service is terrible, but we are working to correct it," the minister acknowledged in response to Junts senator Eduard Pujol, with whom he had a tense exchange after Pujol repeatedly called for his resignation. "I'm not deaf, you don't need to tell me to resign again," the minister retorted.

Since a train crashed into a collapsed wall on the AP-7 motorway near Gelida at 9:00 PM on Tuesday, in an accident that injured 37 people and killed a train driver, Catalonia has been plunged into railway chaos. The recent tragedy in Córdoba had heightened emotions, but what has happened since Tuesday is very difficult to justify. Catalonia cannot endure so many days with the entire commuter rail network blocked and the country's main highway, the AP-7, closed southbound.

The Adamuz train accident will necessitate a considerable review of the track conditions to ensure, as far as possible, the safety of the high-speed rail network. This network comprises 3,000 kilometers, used by more than 40 million passengers last year. The same must be done with the commuter rail network, bearing in mind in both cases the need to restore services to full normality as soon as possible and with the necessary guarantees. It is a matter of responsibility. On the one hand, the smooth operation of transportation—including high-speed rail—is a necessity, not a luxury, and on the other, risks must be minimized. Besides establishing the causes of accidents—which in the case of Gelida are especially clearer than in the one from AdamuzWhat must be guaranteed is that proper maintenance of the network is carried out.

Catalonia is experiencing an unprecedented situation this week. The commuter rail service, crucial for ensuring mobility throughout the country, was suspended for two days following an accident that resulted in the death of a train driver. Due to the same accident, the AP-7, the highway that crosses the country from south to north and is the main route for freight exports, remained closed for more than 24 hours southbound. This mobility chaos has exposed the weaknesses of public transport infrastructure that is nearing collapse due to a number of factors, including a long-standing lack of investment and the effects of climate change.

The commuter rail service is once again uncertain this weekend. At this time, normal rail service is not guaranteed for Saturday, nor is an alternative bus service. Since Friday night, train service has been experiencing problems on all lines after a day marked by another partial shutdown of the R1 line due to a new landslide onto the tracks between Tordera and Maçanet. The incident—which occurred at a point not identified in the surveys carried out this week—has reopened the crisis with train drivers, who claim they cannot work safely, less than 24 hours after rail service was restored. After midnight, representatives from the Catalan Government, Renfe (the national railway company), and Adif (the railway infrastructure manager) met at the Department of Territory to monitor the rail situation, and, according to the Catalan News Agency (ACN), several risk points on the network have been identified requiring urgent action. The meeting was already scheduled for 7 p.m., before tonight's strikes, but it has been postponed twice and resumed without any announcement being made so far, with further meetings expected throughout the weekend. Government sources assure that a service shutdown like Wednesday's has not been considered, but they also cannot guarantee how service will be provided this Saturday and anticipate "disruptions," without specifying their extent. Since Friday night, some lines have experienced delays exceeding half an hour. The same sources attribute the problems affecting the commuter rail network to the intense and continuous rain of recent days. The Department of Territory has already announced that it will hold further follow-up meetings this Saturday and Sunday at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

The leading hypothesis for the Gelida train accident is that the wall the train crashed into gave way due to the relentless rain of the last five days. In this municipality of the Alt Penedès region, it is estimated that nearly 90 liters per square meter have accumulated since last Friday; this is by no means an exceptional amount of rain, although it is surprising given that it occurred in January, a month that is usually quite dry in Spain. But it's raining on already saturated ground, and five consecutive days of rain have further dampened an area that is becoming very waterlogged. In fact, it hasn't stopped raining since mid-December, and more than 200 liters per square meter have already fallen in the Gelida area, nearly a third of the average annual rainfall. "After so much continuous rain, there comes a point when the ground's capacity is exhausted and it becomes saturated, which alters the properties of the materials and can lead to problems like the ones we're seeing," explained Roberto Espínola, a member of the College of Geologists of Catalonia, in statements to ARA. Espínola emphasizes that clay soils like those found in Gelida are especially vulnerable to heavy and prolonged rainfall. "They have the capacity to absorb water into their structure; this causes them to swell and expand, but then they can expel the water, which produces instability in the ground, with possible cracks, landslides, or rockfalls," Espínola asserts. "There are abundant clay materials in the Gelida area."

Ten months ago, on March 9th of last year, after yet another week of rail chaos, Councilor Paneque summoned two secretaries of state and the presidents of Renfe and Adif to Barcelona. They agreed to intensify "Adif's inspection work in Catalonia to guarantee the provision of commuter rail service" and to reinforce "Renfe's information and management centers, as well as the staff assigned to provide immediate assistance to users in case of incidents and to inform the public."