Full buses as an alternative to commuter trains: "More pieces for the daily puzzle"

MartorellShe gets off the bus to catch another, and a short train ride remains before she reaches her destination. From the UAB to Vilafranca, "it takes two and a half hours if everything goes well," Paula Pàmies replies resignedly as she heads home. A month earlier, the journey on the R4 and R8 lines, with a transfer in Martorell, took "an hour," and she admits to being "fed up with waiting and rushing for nothing."

From the fatal commuter train accident in GelidaOn January 21st, Catalonia's rail network was stretched to its limits. The lives of commuters like this university student had to be readjusted to train schedules. "They come when they want, and when they don't come, nobody tells you," complain regular users. But to these delays must be added the fact that, in addition to the sections where the track has had to be closed for repairs, Renfe has had to improvise bus service as an alternative route. "More problems and more pieces for the daily puzzle," explains Gerard, a resident of a housing development in Sant Sadurní and a user of the R4 line, which is closed as far as Martorell.

In Martorell, buses covering the section affected by the accident coincide with those traveling to Granollers along the R8 route, the only commuter rail line that does not pass through Barcelona and also the only one completely closed, although the The point under repair is the Rubí tunnelAt the other end of the line, Roger Cumeras used to take the train to work every day and made the Granollers-Sant Cugat journey in 21 minutes. Without trains, the journey now takes an hour and a half. (three hours a day), which has disrupted his family routine because it forces him to get up much earlier, although he arrives home later than before and has to rush back to his family life.

Cumeras speaks of "an ordeal" and "desperate situations" because in these three weeks on the alternative bus service, he has suffered delays since "they couldn't find the driver" (who was sleeping inside the vehicle) or because, without prior notice, the bus stop was moved to a street further down and no one informed the passengers. Finally, the driver of a bus from the same company warned them that a few hours earlier—mid-morning—they had to change location at the request of the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police).

In the case of the alternative buses contracted by Renfe for the R4 and R8 lines, users don't complain about them being too crowded. In fact, they say that during off-peak hours, only "four or five people" travel on them because people have "gotten busy finding alternatives to the alternatives," she points out. She lives in El Vendrell and, to avoid this stretch of road, "for now" she takes her own car and parks it in Martorell to continue her journey to Barcelona by train. "I've discovered the FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), they're more expensive, but I get there faster," she says, pleased to be able to switch to the Cercanías commuter rail.

Stops without information

Users complain about the lack of information, traffic incidents, and delays. "Worse than the train," exclaims Montse. The discontent is widespread among passengers on the R2 South line, like Isidre, who, since the problems began, has had to resort to teleworking, which his company allows, to avoid headaches. He switched from the train to the intercity bus some time ago to cover the Vilanova i la Geltrú-Barcelona route. Things were going well for him until many passengers, fed up with the Cercanías debacle, began switching to bus service. Now the buses are packed, and consequently, passengers take longer to get on and off, and even to pay, because only integrated tickets or cash are accepted. "These buses are designed with the mindset of 20th-century coaches," he points out, and emphasizes that even the increased frequency isn't enough to accommodate so many passengers who want to avoid the train. At the bus stops, this traveler complains, there are no information panels or an app like the ones trains have for reporting incidents.

Silvia travels from Ripollet to Barcelona and has also noticed how the buses have become filled with people disillusioned with the R4 commuter rail. She admits that she occasionally gives it a "chance" but then realizes she's made a mistake because "there's always something wrong." In her case, the bus is much better, even though she often has to stand on the highway. She says that "it's not just time, but saving the discomfort, anger, and stress" that the commuter rail causes her. Another user satisfied with the bus is Pedro, affected by the R3 line closure due to the track widening project—which was planned before the Gelida accident. He arrives on time and directly from Vic, either on regular intercity buses or the temporary ones set up while the construction is underway.

The Southern Malaise

In Tarragona, commuters endure the railway chaos without buses. "Renfe only offers buses as an alternative where there's no train, even though the service doesn't work," complains Ana Gómez, a user of the Avant Tarragona-Barcelona train and president of the Dignity on the Tracks Platform, which calls for "courage" from mayors "to stand up" and demand useful transportation for their citizens, as the City Council has done. Delays and train disruptions have at least doubled the journey time, and sometimes the trip takes "half a workday."

The platform, together with the Public Transport Promotion (PTP) association, convened the Saturday demonstration for train improvementsIts president, Adrià Ramírez, sums up the situation as "critical," and warns that "existing bus lines work better than alternatives," wondering if the administration will be able to to restore good service and the "trust" of travelers who now reject the train.