Why do FGC trains sound their horn?

BarcelonaUsers of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) were surprised this morning to notice that several trains were making unusual use of their horns. Every time a train met another coming in the opposite direction, an exchange of sounds was heard between the two drivers. The situation kept repeating and, due to its unusual nature, it caught the attention of some users, who joked on social media about whether the drivers were trying to wake them up completely early in the morning.

The users' questions have been answered: today's horns were a specific gesture to bid farewell to a driver with 40 years of experience who is retiring. Francisco Manuel Ruiz was driving a train for the last time today and detailed to ARA that, although it is a tribute that is usually paid among colleagues, he did not think it would go so far. "I expected something simpler," explained Ruiz, who was returning the greeting with a blast of the horn to everyone who greeted him during the journey with the same gesture.

"He is a person who has been providing the service for many years and the rest of the colleagues have a certain affection for him," FGC sources highlighted about the sonic commotion that was experienced this morning on the Vallès lines where Ruiz was passing. In fact, the driver said that given the repeated noise during the journey, even a user approached the cabin to find out what was happening. "She came to ask me why so many whistles were heard and when I told her it was because I was retiring, she congratulated me and thanked me for the work done." All in all, a tribute that the driver received with great emotion. "I have been working as a driver for many years and I was delighted because some of the people I met today and who sounded the whistle to greet me, I had trained them myself," he recalled.