The Barcelona commuter rail service is facing a total of six lines affected and partially cut this Wednesday by the derailment of a Talgo train at Sitges station. Faced with this unforeseen event, Renfe has reinforced the bus service and has enabled coverage on the affected sections as of Tuesday.
For its part, said incident affected passengers who returned from the festive bridge in August, however, mobility will be put to the test this Wednesday, since it is a working day in which thousands of people use the Cercanías service to use from home to work, despite being in a summer context, as Efe recalls.
The event took place when a Talgo from Valencia to Barcelona circulated without a ticket at 09:50 on Tuesday, forcing the interruption of traffic between Garraf and Vilanova i la Geltrú, which affected all the trains of the Cercanías R2 Sur lines; R13; R14; R15; R16 and R17 and those of Long Distance that circulate by conventional route.
Alternative service offered by Renfe
Renfe sources have reported this Wednesday that company technicians are working to put the train back on track and Adif personnel are repairing the damage caused to the track, although there is no forecast of when it will be operational again.
Until then, Renfe has arranged an alternative road service between Castelldefels and Vilanova i la Geltrú with a stop in Sitges, while the journeys between Barcelona and Garraf and from Vilanova to the south are made by train.
The Government demands the transfer of Rodalies
After the event, the Catalan Regional Minister for Territory, Ester Capella, again demanded this Wednesday the transfer of Rodalies. In statements to journalists collected by Efe, Capella has denounced that it is the “umpteenth” problem in the service, and has stated that “eight out of ten days” there are incidents in Rodalies.
“The incidents in Rodalies have been a constant in our country, for years, due to a lack of historical investment, due to a manifest desire not to invest what was committed”, emphasized the minister, who regretted that the incidents “affect life daily miles of citizens”.
“The incidences of Rodalies are a constant, due to a lack of historical investment”
“We have been demanding the full transfer of Rodalies for a long time. We will do it. Let us do it, the trains will be much more punctual, there will be no incidents on the tracks or in the machines,” he added.
The minister has claimed that the transfer includes the budgeted contributions to be able to “update” the Rodalies network and so that the Government has the capacity to plan the railway network of Catalonia.
