Commuter trains: the keys to a dark March

BarcelonaThe month of March will be marked in red on this year's calendar as One of the worst months ever experienced on the commuter rail network Catalonia. The overlapping of a multitude of construction projects, the discontent of Renfe workers over the announcement of the transfer, and the usual service incidents that users are well aware of have led to more than 75 significant incidents being recorded last month. That's practically twenty per week. Or, in other words, more than 2.5 significant incidents on average each day, including those officially reported and those that have come to light because users themselves have publicly denounced the disruption to the service.

User associations warn that passengers are at the end of their tether. This past month has seen repeated scenes of anger and anguish, with trains stopped, platforms packed, and even mass evacuations, with passengers walking across the tracks, escorted by Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police). All of this, these platforms claim, is accompanied by very little information: "There is no empathy whatsoever for the user, and that is the most desperate thing for regular passengers," laments Marc Janeras, spokesperson for the R3 users' association.

Both the Spanish and Catalan governments argue that the accumulation of problems is due, above all, to the large volume of investment and ongoing works. "There are 200 projects underway on the rail network," explained the Regional Minister for Territory, Sílvia Paneque, during her appearance at the plenary session on Cercanías (Commuter Rail) in the Parliament last week, while also adding that it would take "two years to begin to have a more efficient Cercanías service." Just a few days earlier, the relevant minister, Óscar Puente, also asserted that the volume of investment and construction is "so large" (he estimated it at €2 billion) that it is "very difficult to reconcile with service provision."

However, verifying these claims is not easy. ARA has compiled (see map attached to this article) the most significant ongoing construction projects and has recorded—day by day—the most significant incidents that occurred during the month of March, since neither Renfe nor Adif provide a public list of these issues beyond the publication of construction projects and tenders. A detailed analysis of this data reveals that many of the incidents are indeed recorded in areas with the most construction work, but there are also dozens of problems at many other points on the railway network where no work is disrupting the service.

• If you want to investigate the map in more detail, open the high-resolution version in another tab.

"When we say that investment is putting a strain on the system, we mean that the works are restricting operational capacity, which is why we're rescheduling services so much," Antonio Carmona, director of commuter rail and spokesperson for Adif in Catalonia, told ARA. "Sometimes, recovery from incidents isn't as fast as we'd like due to the number of operations being carried out across the entire network: we're limited," he added.

However, for the president of the Public Transport Promotion Association (PTP), Adrià Ramírez, these works have not been prioritized or planned "with enough thought for the service." "Yes, many works are being carried out, but not all of them are aimed at directly improving the service for users. Many, such as the burying of Sant Feliu and the Mediterranean Corridor, are necessary and welcome works but will not improve the service," explains Ramírez. "What is needed is to double the tracks: we have many sections of the network with single tracks that should be double, and double tracks that should be triple or quadruple, and this is not being prioritized enough, nor are the bottlenecks being resolved," insists the PTP spokesperson, who further asserts that the network needs more. Currently, according to Minister Paneque, of the 272 trains that Renfe has (which make around 1,000 trips per day), 24% "are not available" to run. The reason, according to the operator, is that these trains are undergoing preventative maintenance, with major inspections, graffiti removal, and also repairs of damaged parts, in other words, a shutdown that is "vital" to ensure safety.

"There's a lot of work being done on the rail network, but not all of it is improving the lives of commuters."

X-ray of the incidents

Be that as it may, the March incident tally reveals some hot spots where these works are located. "It's logical and normal," agree the experts consulted, as well as the operator, Adif, and user platforms. Both Carmona and Minister Paneque were able to witness firsthand that the month was starting to go wrong. The train reopening the Berà tunnel (closed for five months between Tarragona and Sant Vicenç de Calders) arrived in the Catalan capital 50 minutes late. Two hours later, train traffic between Sant Vicenç de Calders and Cunit was cut due to a lack of power in the overhead lines.

In Sant Vicenç de Calders alone—where work continues on the corridor to Castellbisbal (see map)—there have been up to eight incidents in the last 31 days. The other areas with the most problems have been Castellbisbal, with another four incidents, and Tarragona-Salou (where an alternative road plan is in place). "Sant Vicenç is a sensitive area," admits Carmona, spokesperson for Renfe and Adif in Catalonia. "It's a major project that, when completed at the end of the summer, will allow for the complete reconfiguration of the southern regional lines," he clarifies.

"The Corridor is a necessary project, good for the economy and for getting trucks off the roads, but it won't have a direct impact on users: in fact, they force passengers and freight onto the same roads, competing for space, instead of building new ones," laments Ramírez. "It does have an effect on users," replies Carmona. "All the global, economic, sustainability, and reliability improvements affect everyone."

The section between Sitges and Garraf has also suffered up to four breakdowns this month, precisely on the stretch where there is a single track because work is being carried out to change lanes and connect crossings. "Here, the infrastructure needed to be renovated, and in accordance with the urgent measures agreements signed on March 9, the work is being done on time to improve and move quickly without affecting commercial services," argues Carmona.

Beyond the roadworks, the map also shows a good number of incidents in places where no work is underway. This is the case of all the technical incidents near Barcelona, ​​​​an area full of tunnels with high traffic density and full of intersections. The two most flagrant cases that made the most headlines this March actually occurred in this area, with the Hundreds of passengers were evacuated via the railways due to a breakdown in Bellvitge and another (in this case on the high-speed line) in Sants.

Cerdanyola has also suffered four breakdowns, with alternative road plans included. Four more incidents in Mollet (two of which were run over), several more in Maresme on the R1 route, and yet another on the R3, one of the most battered lines and one that has been demanding widening for decades, which was postponed last fall precisely to give priority to the Corridor works. "We don't want to compete with other needs, but it's clear that they've chosen. We believe that both works should be able to be carried out in parallel," laments Janeras, spokesperson for those affected by the R3. "The unofficial explanation they gave us is that there weren't enough resources to run all the alternative bus services," she explains.

The transfer and the strikes

Inclement weather (wind, rocks, and fallen trees) and a lack of general maintenance completed the Catalan railway network's woes last month. But another factor caused even more significant disruptions. The strike by Renfe train drivers, who were protesting the transfer of commuter rail services because they feared losing some of their labor rights, pushed the system to its limits. Although the majority unions called off the strike in extremis the protestMinorities such as the CGT and the Intersindical-SF Confederation decided to maintain it. During the six days of strikes, train cancellations and problems affected more than a dozen lines, and some even saw service disrupted on more than one occasion along the entire line (this was the case on lines R8, R2, R7, R3, R4, and R1).

"This month, several factors have combined to prevent us from offering the service we had planned," argues the director of Cercanías, Antonio Carmona. In an attempt to see the glass half full, the operator emphasizes that the Berà tunnel construction has ceased to cause problems and that the strikes have ended. In recent days, the company has also closed its usual work station. Two workers are now under investigation for an alleged case of internal sabotageThe company is now investigating whether these individuals, who were performing operational management, may have given erroneous orders expressly to the drivers to stop the departure of about forty trains on two different days (March 26 and April 2) and in the context of the strikes. Renfe emphasizes that these are two "exceptional" and "isolated" cases but does not hide their importance. "In 25 years with the company, I have never seen it before," Carmona emphasizes, "but the commitment of the rest of the group cannot be questioned."

The Cercanías management is confident that April will be more peaceful. Without strikes, with some sections of construction more completed, and with a Internal reorganization of positions and personnel in Cercanías"We are also working to implement all the emergency measures agreed upon on March 9, especially those related to improved communication," Carmona concludes.