A university student claims 9,211 euros for the damage caused to him by "the malfunction of Rodalies"

Barcelona"Enough is enough. They need to know that we users will not stand idly by." David Pujol, a 19-year-old mathematics student at the UAB, has decided to calculate and claim all "moral and economic damages" that he claims have been caused by the malfunction of Renfe's Rodalies. This Tuesday, the young man, who lives with a neurodivergence – he has an obsessive-compulsive disorder – filed a property claim with the Ministry of Transport and the Generalitat, demanding a total of 9,211.35 euros "for continued negligence" which he claims has "severely" affected his life and mental health. "I will go to court if necessary," he states.

David begins by explaining his story to ARA from the end: "I had to change my home, from Pineda de Mar to Cerdanyola. And it's not for pleasure, it's to be able to study and live more peacefully," he recounts. But the journey to get here begins in 2024, when he enters university. "Pineda is not far from the university, but if you go by public transport, it is. After studying many ways to get there, the best was to take the R1 from Calella to Clot, there take a metro to Fabra i Puig and from there take the R7, which reaches the Autònoma. If everything goes well, it's a two and a quarter hour journey, while by car it's 40 minutes," he argues.

This student explains that he had already accepted these times and that for many months he woke up at dawn, at 4 am, to catch the first train and arrive at the Bellaterra campus at 7 am: "At least I made sure I arrived at classes and from 7 to 9 I did other things, like studying at the library or going to the gym," he recounts. But then "the line started to fail". "Trains were canceled very often, there were many problems with safety, little staff, and incredible delays: one day I waited two hours at Fabra i Puig," he continues.

"Because of my disorder, I have control needs, and not having access to any kind of information has affected me tremendously. I have suffered a lot of anxiety, sleep problems, and also concentration problems for my studies. That's why I've decided to go further," David explains to this newspaper. His mathematical spirit has deployed all his research, data collection, and analysis skills and he has armed himself with arguments. "On the one hand, law 6/2022 states that administrations, including transport, must be accessible not only for physical disabilities but also for people with cognitive problems. And nowadays Renfe is not accessible for people who have an obsessive-compulsive disorder like mine or autism, for example," he assures. And he continues: "I have a report from my psychologist that supports the damages that Rodalies has caused to my mental health, and I have an Excel spreadsheet where I have collected 55 specific incidents and how they affected me personally. I have made a total of 33 written complaints, 10 digital ones, three to the Ombudsman, one to Consumer Affairs, and one to Labor, for the day there were non-compliance with minimum services," he details.

In total, David is claiming 2,000 euros for "uprooting," because he has had to leave his home "just to be able to study"; 4,500 euros for damages to his mental health; another 2,500 euros because he considers that his right to study has been "prohibited," with the loss of exams and class hours, and another 211 euros corresponding to public transport tickets. "I think I've done the right thing – he concludes –. I have chosen to file a patrimonial claim and if they don't respond or deny it, I will go all the way: then I will get a lawyer and go through the administrative litigation route, filing a lawsuit – he anticipates –. I don't intend to waste any more time, and for everything I've lost so far, I think someone should be held responsible."

From indignation to mobilization

David's outrage, which he himself claims is shared by many other users, has not only led him to take action to claim what he believes is rightfully his due to the violation of his personal rights, but has also prompted him to make a move for collective rights. "At just 18 years old, I requested an appointment with Territori to have a meeting with the Secretary of Mobility, Manel Nadal, and they granted it to me. I met with him last June, and Antonio Carmona, spokesperson for Renfe, was also present at the meeting – he explains –. They apologized to me several times, but what I wanted was to secure the commitment that the R7 would improve.

Seeing that the situation not only wasn't improving but that last November the line was halted, he decided to go further. "Now I am in contact with the Dignitat a les Vies users' platform because I want to set up another one in Maresme, for the R1," explains David, who is now participating in the weekly meetings between the Government, the operator, and users, following the entire railway chaos caused by the fatal accident in Gelida last January. "Every time I've been able to meet with politicians, it makes me very angry to see that they are truly disconnected from reality: it's not that difficult to take a train and see what happens to users – he indignantly states –. I want to see it through so that they see, in part, who we users are, and that we don't stay silent," he concludes.