More than 13,000 trees threatened the Catalan train network lines

BarcelonaIt was one of the reasons that generated the most warnings from train drivers during the peak moments of the railway crisis: the number of trees that fell on or very close to the train tracks has forced Adif to cut down 13,680 trees between January and March. The rain and wind storms Harry and Ingrid exposed the weakness of the Catalan railway network in the face of meteorological inclemencies, and this is reflected in Adif's statistics. Of the total trees felled during this period, the infrastructure manager removed 8,380 as part of its usual vegetation control plan and an additional 5,300 trees as part of the emergency plan for the storms. The most affected area was the Maçanet-Portbou route, in the north of the country.

During that period, not only did trees fall, but retaining walls also collapsed –like the one that caused the death of the trainee driver in Gelida, on the R4– and embankments. In addition, there were landslides that, in turn, caused Adif to establish, for safety reasons, hundreds of temporary speed restrictions (LTV) at different points on the network, the consequences of which are still being felt today.

Adif sources explain that the operator is still working on the repair and maintenance of 130 embankments across the Rodalies network, where they have around 360 workers deployed. The same sources explain that the month of March still started with 216 speed restrictions in force on the 1,200 kilometers of tracks that extend through Catalonia. Despite this, the same sources clarified that these are "temporary" restrictions and even argued that the operator is working "at a good pace" repairing and lifting these limits at different points.

Government sources confirmed that during the past month, 78 of these restrictions were lifted, which still had a significant impact on schedules and, therefore, on users. During this time, however, they admit that new ones were also added. But neither Adif, nor Renfe, nor the Generalitat wanted to detail yesterday how many new LTVs there were in March, alleging that the situation changes every day and that many of these new restrictions have been in place for a short time, due to specific and already resolved incidents.

However, the forecast is that Monday will start with a total of 179 speed restrictions still in force. The figure, however, is still well above the 95 LTVs that the network usually supports during periods of greater normality in Rodalies operations. These speed restrictions are, according to Adif, a safety measure always foreseen in contingency plans that are activated whenever there are environmental alerts.

Renfe assures that the service has been recovered by 94%

In turn, Renfe sources explain that, operationally, efforts and changes have also been made to try to ensure that these speed limitations have the minimum impact on schedules and, therefore, on users' lives. Thus, the operator insists that it has tried to improve rotations and make strategic reservations so that trains can gain minutes on delays when they change direction.

The operator noted that in the last week, normality has been recovered on the R4 in the section between Sant Vicenç de Calders and Terrassa Nord (although a "systematic" delay of 10 or 15 minutes is still being dragged due to speed limitations, which they hope will be resolved "soon"). Furthermore, normality has also been fully re-established, they assure, on the R1, and the R2 has improved with the adoption of new schedules, after the agreement with the drivers for the Garraf works.

Renfe assures that at the moment the service is functioning at 94% compared to the period prior to the temporary measures, with a total of 846 services on a working day across all lines, with theoretical schedules and restored sections. The Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, said last week that he was confident that the temporary speed limitations that still exist on the railway network in Catalonia would be resolved by June.

In parallel, Adif also explains that the works both in the Rubí tunnel – through which passenger trains pass, but which is also a vital corridor for freight trains – and the works in Garraf – where tunnels damaged by sea corrosion are being secured – are progressing well and are currently following the planned schedule: in Rubí, the most critical section is expected to reopen in early May, and in Garraf, the works are expected to finish within the planned three-month period.