The 'horribilis' week on the Cercanías trains ends with passengers walking on the track

BarcelonaIt was supposed to be a positive week for Cercanías, but it ended up being HorribilisThe sight on Friday of hundreds of passengers having to complete their journey on foot along the track escorted by the Mossos and the Firefighters was the disastrous culmination of a week that had begun with the reopening of the Berà tunnel on Monday and the resumption of service between Tarragona and Barcelona after five months of works.

That the week was beginning to go wrong was soon confirmed first-hand by the regional minister, Silvia Paneque, and the director of commuter rail, Antonio Carmona. The train on which they were travelling from Tarragona to Barcelona on Monday to symbolise the resumption of service arrived in the Catalan capital 50 minutes late. Two hours later, rail traffic between Sant Vicenç de Calders and Cunit had to be cut off due to a lack of voltage in the overhead lines.

On Tuesday night, the fall of a large rock on a train on the R3 – which links Barcelona with Puigcerdà – left three people slightly injured and forced the track to be closed between Ribes de Freser and Puigcerdà for the whole of Wednesday. That same day, again in Tarragona, the section between Torredembarra and Sant Vicenç de Calders was delayed for more than half an hour due to a technical incident affecting lines R13, R14, R15, R16, R17 and RT2.

On Thursday it was the information system that was blown up. Throughout the morning the public address system and the screens that indicate the trains on the Cercanías network were out of service and the company had to ask users to get information via the front and side panels of the trains. In Tarragona the problems continued and a road service was set up to cover the section between Sant Vicenç de Calders and Cunit for Friday morning.

The main event of the incidents came this Friday. Up to seven lines were running in the morning with delays or interruptions due to several simultaneous breakdowns in the railway network managed by the state infrastructure company Adif. The most serious incident was on the R2 Sud, on the section between Gavà and Bellvitge-Gornal. A power cut in the Bellvitge substation meant that the train could not run and had to stop for more than an hour.

The blockage caused scenes of anguish inside the train, where, according to some users, there were people who claimed to be short of breath. This has caused the passengers themselves to open their doors and begin to walk along the track, where, given the risk that this entails, they have finally been escorted by the Mossos and the Firefighters until they reach Bellvitge.

Isla apologizes

The chaos on Friday and the concatenation of incidents throughout the week have forced the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, to apologize from Perpignan to all the affected citizens. "It is not acceptable," he admitted, and promised "all the efforts and resources of the Government" to be able to "redirect, reverse and resolve the situation" in the Cercanías. The director of the service, Antonio Carmona, also apologized.

Before, Paneque had recognized in statements to Catalunya Ràdio that "urgent and rapid solutions are needed to return the service to normal as soon as possible." The minister has again blamed all the problems this week on the endemic lack of investment that the Cercanías network in Catalonia is suffering from. "I found the house as I found it, and that's how I explain it," the councillor justified herself, who, however, highlighted the "good disposition and very good will" of Renfe and Adif to improve the various current problems.

On the problems in Tarragona after the reopening from the Roda de Berà tunnel, Paneque - who has asked to appear in Parliament to discuss this matter - has explained that of the three technical problems that were detected "two have already been solved." The third, which is what is still pending resolution, is a failure in communications between the drivers and the control centres. "When this happens, communications must be made by mobile phone, and that delays operations," explained the minister.

to give explanations. In Congress, Carles Puigdemont's party has requested, like ERC, the appearance of the minister in charge, Óscar Puente.

As if the scenario were not complex enough, on Monday The train drivers announced a seven-day strike The strike is scheduled for March and April due to the breaches, they say, of the agreements signed on the transfer of Cercanías and Renfe Mercancías. The strike is called for the 17th, 19th, 24th, 26th and 28th of March, as well as the 1st and 3rd of April. "We will do everything possible to avoid it," said Paneque, who has stressed on several occasions that "all labour rights will be guaranteed for all workers." "We will hold the necessary meetings to show a firm commitment. We understand the concern that the transfer and the creation of the new joint venture may cause them, but their rights will be guaranteed," stressed the minister.