Cercanías, the only service that has not recovered from the massive blackout

BarcelonaWith the power supply restored and all activities resumed, the only service still not operating normally in Catalonia on Tuesday night is the rail service. Throughout the day, a large part of the commuter rail lines returned to service, but with many limitations, and the schedules and sections that were still closed cannot be guaranteed. Long-distance and high-speed trains have also been able to depart, but some lines are still not operating, and those that are operating are experiencing delays and limitations. More than 24 hours after the blackout that left the Iberian Peninsula in darkness, some passengers at Sants station have still been unable to resume their journey.

This Tuesday at noon, the President of the Generalitat (Catalan regional government), Salvador Illa, stated: "Commuter rail will resume full service today." This was his confident statement during the appearance after the crisis cabinet meeting held this afternoon at the Palau de la Generalitat, where he explained that this is "the forecast" that Renfe officials have conveyed to them following the chaos caused by the massive blackout.

A few minutes after the president's statements, the director of Cercanías in Catalonia, Antonio Carmona, qualified his remarks and said they are doing "everything possible" to return the service to normal. Carmona did not give an exact date or time for the sector's return to normal, but assured that "the 2,000 Renfe workers in Catalonia are working to ensure that tomorrow the service will be as normal as possible." "We can't give an exact date; we are working to gradually restore some lines. And we are also conducting tests with Adif. We are working; we must guarantee the service," he argued in statements to TV3. Renfe workers will work all night.

According to Renfe's latest update this Tuesday at 8:30 p.m., its staff is working to ensure regular service will continue tomorrow, Wednesday, on both commuter trains and on high-speed and long-distance trains. However, the day began with commuter trains completely paralyzed and all trains suspended. Service resumed—albeit very slowly—starting at 11:30 a.m. According to the Spanish operator, service has resumed "partially" and with "very minimal service" on five lines: R1, R2, R2 Norte, R3, and R4. Gradually, additional lines have been added, and the first trains on R2 Sur, R11, and R16 have also started running.

However, the power outages recorded at various locations this Tuesday have also complicated the recovery of commuter service. During the afternoon, an incident at the Cubelles electrical substation complicated the initial resumption of service on the R2 Sur line, which had been restored from Estacion de Francia to Sant Vicenç de Calders. This line is now providing only minimal service between Garraf and Estacion de Francia.

The incident at the electrical substation was resolved this afternoon, allowing the restoration of service on the R2 Sur line from Barcelona to Sant Vicenç de Calders, although trains are running on a limited basis and without the usual service. All of this has forced the southern regional service to be suspended, which had begun to operate on a limited basis. For the time being, they are not operating.

Both Isla and Carmona agreed that the commuter rail network cannot be compared to any other mode of transport, referring to criticism that other operators, such as Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat (FGC) and the TMB metro in Barcelona, ​​​​have operated normally since early this morning. "It's not the same size," Carmona defended himself. "We had to check that all the transformers were working and, despite all the work we did tonight, at 6:30 a.m. we had to report that it would not [operate safely], because electrical instability did not allow it," he said.

According to Carmona, the decision was made to completely suspend the service to avoid situations with stopped trains during the journey. He agreed with Illa, who said: "The recovery of this service has been more complex and whenever an alternative service could be offered, it has been offered." In fact, since the trains have resumed running, the Secretary of Mobility of the Government, Manel Nadal, has been quick to make a nuance through the social network X: "Partial and limited circulation, still far from being able to say that the service is being recovered."

Current status of the Cercanías service

The company emphasizes that services are resuming "with very minimal services." According to the latest update from Renfe at 8:30 p.m., after the incident at the Cubelles electrical substation was resolved, the R2 Sur line from Barcelona to Sant Vicenç de Calders has been restored. Other commuter lines are also resuming service with limitations, such as the R1, which runs with minimal service from Hospitalet de Llobregat to Maçanet-Massanes.

Both the R2 and R2 Nord lines are operating along their entire route, albeit with minimal service and without observing the usual service schedules. The R3 line is operating with delays between Hospitalet de Llobregat and Ripoll, but there is no service from Ripoll to Puigcerdà. An alternative road service is available on this section. The R4 line is operating only between Hospitalet de Llobregat and Manresa, with delays. Regarding the R11, service is operating on the Barcelona-Girona-Portbou section. On the other commuter lines, service remains suspended, and Renfe is urging people to find other means of transport.

As for high-speed trains, the AVE (High Speed Trains) on the Figueres-Barcelona-Madrid line are running, but off schedule. Service to Andalusia resumed at 3:50 p.m., and the Mediterranean Corridor service began at 4:00 p.m., with three southbound services and five northbound services. During the afternoon, the first trains to Barcelona on the long-distance line in the north of the peninsula also begin arriving.

Impact on users

Many commuters hoped this morning to take the train to work, only to find that this option was not available upon arrival at the station. Crowds, complaints, and protests over the lack of information at Sants—one of the country's largest stations—recurred again.

With commuter trains shut down, many commuters have found their only alternative means of transportation has been buses, and the same scene has been repeated throughout Catalonia: long lines of commuter train passengers looking for a seat on the bus to reach their destination.

Once there, they found the lines stretched for over an hour. Furthermore, they had to pay in cash, and most people only had their commuter train ticket or card with them:

Sources within the bus company's staff claim that the Generalitat (Catalan government) has asked them to expand their fleet of vehicles for today, but they insist they will only be able to do so after the school bus schedule ends, due to a lack of material, i.e., of available buses.