Delays at Renfe: six copper thefts in ten days at the Estació de França

BarcelonaAnother morning of railway chaos on the R2 South line. And, once again, the disruptions are related to a copper theft in the area of the Estació de França in Barcelona: it is the sixth time in just ten days that the same incident has occurred, and Adif confirms it has sent its technicians back to the area to replace all the material.

As a result, the R2 South Rodalies trains have been operating for much of the morning outside their usual schedule, according to Renfe sources. For the moment, two trains per hour and direction are running between Sant Vicenç de Calders and the Estació de França, stopping at all stations. In addition, some trains are starting and ending their journeys at Passeig de Gràcia. The alterations have also caused delays, which average twenty minutes.

Adif reported shortly after 10 a.m. that the incident had already been resolved, about three hours after it was detected. In this way, with the stolen cable now replaced, the network will gradually recover normality and the usual service frequencies.

Sector sources note that it is not common to have such a large spike in thefts in the same area over so many consecutive days. The causes, they indicate, could be diverse: from surveillance problems or the fences surrounding the infrastructure to the actions of organized criminal groups. At this time, the Mossos d'Esquadra have not yet given an official response, but, as ARA has learned, they met this very morning to share information on all the cases from recent days.

Meanwhile, users have once again expressed their frustration on social media. The platform Dignitat a les Vies, made up mainly of users from the southern corridor, is demanding explanations from Rodalies de Catalunya, the Department of Territory, and Adif—the infrastructure manager—and is calling for a spokesperson to appear to clarify what is happening around the Estació de França.

Another incident complicates the morning on the south corridor

The delays and changes on the R2 South line have been joined, this Wednesday morning, by another incident on the southern corridor, in this case between Garraf and Castelldefels. A problem with a switch in Castelldefels has caused even more delays affecting regional trains, specifically those on lines R13, R14, R15, R16, and R17. This incident was also resolved shortly after 10 a.m., according to information provided by Adif.