Expelled from commuter trains: "I've even cried on the platform out of helplessness"

BarcelonaAnyone who has tried to catch a commuter train in recent days could say that commuting steals hours of sleep, both metaphorically and literally. Unprecedented chaos The events of the last two weeks have further highlighted the headache of traveling by commuter train in Catalonia. But this is a situation many had experienced years before the fatal accident in Gelida on January 20th brought everything to a halt. These are citizens from all over the country who have seen the commuter rail chaos become a chronic problem in their daily lives and, tired of watching life pass them by while waiting on a train or inside a carriage, have decided to stay away from the commuter rail system.

Nilo lives in Granollers and has to travel the entire R2 line to Castelldefels, where he studies. Although the station is just a few minutes' walk from his school, after two years of problems—cancellations, breakdowns, trains ending their journeys before reaching their destination—his family decided to buy a second car. "My intention has always been to travel by train, but on exam days I can't risk it. The only option is to drive," she says. However, this change has made gasoline a fixed expense and means she has to spend a lot of time stuck in traffic on the AP-7. Alba confirms that the daily logistics of being a commuter rail user "is hell." When she decided to change jobs, she knew that, after thirteen years of traveling by train, one of her priorities was not having to take the commuter train. "It was an ordeal; I never knew when I'd get home," she explains. Now that she no longer uses them, she says she's become aware of how tortured she felt, and adds that she's gained quality of life because she no longer has to count the hours she loses waiting for a train: "Life was passing me by and I wasn't there," she recalls. "I wanted to pick up my daughters from school at least one afternoon a week," and when the train arrived...

Marta has also felt excluded from the train service. She lives in Gelida and works in Vilafranca del Penedès, right across from the commuter rail station. The train journey on the R4 line, in theory, takes just over 15 minutes, but she has "completely stopped considering it." "It's impossible to take the train with all the delays and incidents that happen every day on this line, especially on this section, and I decided I'd had enough. I go by car every day," she says. She also explains that this decision has been costly: "I went from spending about 40 euros on a Youth Travel Card that lasts me three months to having to spend between 100 and 150 euros a month on gas. My commute has tripled or quadrupled," she criticizes.

Physical and emotional strain

Meanwhile, there are also those who still choose to take the train, but not the Cercanías commuter rail network. To get to work in Barcelona from Girona, Judit has to combine medium-distance trains with the AVE high-speed train, which "works, but is incredibly expensive." In this case, although there is an alternative due to the poor Cercanías service, it's not accessible to everyone. However, commuters agree that the strain isn't just financial; it also affects them physically and emotionally. Judit has gotten used to always letting people know she'll be late, even before leaving. "I always count on being at least half an hour late," she laments. She also recounts times when she's felt desperate, like when she was "stranded in the middle of the night" with no one to come and get her, or days when she's waited for hours at the station without receiving any clear information. "I've even cried on the platform out of helplessness," she admits.

Lluc, a resident of Sant Fruitós de Bages, had to commute to Barcelona for four years to attend university. In theory, the R4 commuter train was the fastest option, but in practice, it was the least predictable: "If I took the Cercanías commuter train, I didn't know what time it would leave or arrive," he says. After experiencing delays of 20, 30, or 40 minutes, he began to avoid it almost entirely and opted for the FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya) or the bus from Manresa to Barcelona, ​​even though the journey was slightly longer. Adding to this was the lack of connections from his town, and the solution was to commute to Barcelona during the week because "otherwise, I wouldn't make it to class," he explains.

Laia moved back to Cerdanyola del Vallès, taking the idea that "it's a very well-connected town" to heart, she explains. But when the commuter train fails, the options are reduced to overcrowded buses with transfers or asking someone to pick her up at the FGC station: "I end up begging my partner, friends, or family to come and get me," she explains. With variable work schedules, planning ahead is almost impossible and "makes her dependent." "I need a network of people to rescue me," she admits.