Cuts on the R2, R2North and R11 of Rodalies due to two new sinkholes
The downpour of Wednesday evening has dragged the ballast from under the tracks in an area near the sinkhole of last July
BarcelonaThe effect of the torrential rains this Wednesday night has once again highlighted the weaknesses of the railway network. A service suspension has affected the R2, R2Nord, and R11 lines since this morning, between Barcelona (Sant Andreu) and Granollers Centre. The reason? The rain has caused two new holes to appear in the ground of the tracks, very close to the point where last July a large sinkhole swallowed a crane from the Rodalies construction works, near Vallbona.
Thus, circulation on these lines remains, for the moment, completely interrupted. At two in the afternoon, Adif confirmed that it had already opened one of the two tracks. Half an hour later, at two-thirty, they added that the second one was also being opened. According to Renfe, however, the trains are not yet running. Before carrying passengers again, test runs (without passengers) will be carried out along with the usual traffic and safety checks for these cases.
Throughout the morning, Adif workers have been working to refill the holes. According to spokespeople for the infrastructure manager, heavy rains have washed away the ballast (the stones found under the tracks) and other materials. For its part, Renfe has tried to guarantee mobility by planning an alternative transport service with road buses.
Apart from this new incident, the network is suffering from other problems such as delays and speed restrictions derived from the rains. At the moment, "occasional" low speeds are still being maintained in points such as the R4, where there has also been a new copper theft, between Castellbisbal and Molins de Rei. All of this has caused delays to remain at an average of about 30 minutes throughout the morning.
The operator Renfe has also explained that the storm flooded the pits of the Sant Andreu Comtal workshop in the early hours of the morning, which is used as a maintenance base for regional trains. Renfe has explained that technicians have been working since early morning to drain the accumulated water, check for possible damage, and restore normality "and thus avoid affecting the medium-distance service in the coming days".