Cercanías users suffer more anxiety and depression

Barcelona88% of train users in Catalonia say they have noticed an increase in anxiety, depression, and physical discomfort due to the poor performance of the Adif and Renfe rail network. Last March, when the train drivers' strike – combined with the Berà tunnel works – caused a chaotic month to the Cercanías and Regional services.

The research analyzes, specifically, the psychological consequences for frequent users of the poor functioning of the service, and was carried out by a team from the university's psychology department at the request of the Dignity on the Tracks platform. The authors have analyzed four indicators of emotional discomfort: anxiety, depression, hostility and somatizations (physical discomforts such as headaches or heavy digestion associated with stress).

The study, which has interviewed around 700 people so far, finds that 80% of users say it has taken more than half of the times they have taken the train, while almost half say that "it always" They arrive late. Regarding anxiety symptoms, while the average reference score is 3.56 (on a scale of 0 to 20), frequent train users score an average of 8.69, and infrequent users, 7.86. For depression, the average reference score is 5.32, but users' scores are above 8 points. Somatizations also increase significantly: from a reference score of 4.26 to 8.38 in the case of frequent users.

"With the results of this study, we want to highlight the fact that people's environment has a direct influence on their psychological well-being or discomfort. We often tend to view mental health problems as individual issues, and in reality, they are strongly influenced by our living conditions," says Sergi Martín-Arbós.

The study is still ongoing and collecting data via an online form.