Suburban trains will be charged again starting Saturday, May 9th

BarcelonaRodalies users will pay again to use the train starting Saturday, May 9. After arguing that these past three months are "the period in which the most intense work and investment has been made in Rodalies to improve its operation," the Government has noted a "progressive improvement" in the service and, therefore, sees it viable to lift some exceptional measures, decreed "to accompany users during this period," as announced this Thursday by the Minister of Territory, Sílvia Paneque. Thus, the last day to use the railway network for free will be Friday, May 8.

The Generalitat decreed that Rodalies trips would be free shortly after the fatal accident in Gelida, on January 20, in which a trainee driver lost his life due to the fall of a retaining wall of the AP-7 that impacted a train on the R4 line. The basic reason for offering the service for free was the inability to provide it in a normalized way. In fact, all train circulation in Catalonia had to be suspended on more than one occasion, and speed reductions were made that affected the punctuality of the trains —or, directly, canceled them—, as well as line closures to carry out emergency works to secure the tracks and their surroundings.

During a visit to the Rubí tunnel works with the Secretary of State for Transport, José Antonio Santano, the minister indicated that the Catalan railway network was in "a critical situation" due to decades of underinvestment and adverse weather conditions; first the drought, then the torrential rains of late 2025 and early this year. Now, however, she stated that there has been a "progressive improvement" in the service, attributing it to the fact that the Generalitat, together with Renfe and Adif, has worked intensely on inspections and urgent repairs at 690 sensitive points on the network, and has deployed preventive measures on slopes, tunnels, and trenches, among others.

"It is necessary to value the mobilization of resources that has taken place: more than 50 technicians and 400 workers dedicated to inspections; 15 operators for repairs, and 31 emergency actions," detailed Paneque. In this regard, she explained that a total of 65 trenches have been stabilized and that all the work of clearing and felling trees, and placing geogrids, boulders, and structural reinforcements has also been reinforced.

User complaints

However, Dignidad en las Vías, the commuter users' platform, believes that the time has not yet come to withdraw the free service on this railway and has asked that this step not be taken until a "stable, safe, and dignified" network can be guaranteed. "The constant disruptions stemming from alternative transport plans, the works we are enduring throughout the Southern Regional area, the emergency of the R13, and an R15 that only reopens at 50% capacity and with speed restrictions, create a scenario far removed from the service that citizens deserve," they assert.

The platform states that it is not in favor of "eternal free service" and that they understand that public transport must be paid for, but that withdrawing it now "would be a profoundly misguided step." "They are demonstrating a total disconnect with what the user experiences day-to-day on the platforms, and what it means to need the train to study, work, or access basic services," it says. The entity's spokesperson, Anna Gómez, adds: "We cannot accept being made to pay because we are already paying with our health," she added.

Improvements on lines R15, R3, and R4

For his part, Secretary Santano took the opportunity to recall that the Ministry of Transport has invested 170 million euros in emergency works at more than 100 points of the Catalan infrastructure and that all "are progressing according to the planned schedule". The number two of Minister Óscar Puente assured that one of the "large-scale" ongoing works is the artificial tunnel and the Garraf and Aiguadolç viaducts, on the stretch between Sitges and Garraf, to preserve their durability and prevent the effects of marine corrosion and waves. In this same action, he added, improvements are also being made to an underpass in the urban center of Sitges.

According to the minister, the situation in Rodalies over the last three months has also made it possible to better manage "different already planned projects". In this regard, Paneque pointed out that, next Monday, there will be a series of improvements for many users. On the one hand, the R15 will recover its route from Reus to Móra la Nova; on the other hand, the R3 will re-establish its route from Ripoll to Ribes de Freser, and the R4 will resume its complete route between Sant Vicenç de Calders and Manresa. In this case, the shuttle that currently operates between Terrassa and Manresa will be discontinued. Furthermore, Santano pointed out that temporary speed restrictions (LTV) are being progressively removed: if two months ago there were 216, now there are 157.

With all these measures, Paneque said, the railway service will operate "at 96% of its potential" from next week, and assured that Rodalies is regaining the trust of users. The spokesperson claims that 90% of the usual passengers have already been recovered. However, she also indicated that some alternative transport plans will still be maintained for a while longer, in sections "with pending improvements" and where the authorities want to work "at a faster pace". For example, the stretch from Falset to Riba-roja d'Ebre, or the stretch from Ripoll to Puigcerdà, where planned tunnel improvement works are to be accelerated.