Illa Criticizes Train Drivers Over Rodalies Delays on Monday
Catalan president Salvador Illa criticized train drivers for hampering Rodalies service on Monday. Rodalies confirmed a union dispute is delaying trains.
Catalan president Salvador Illa criticized the attitude of train drivers on Monday after another difficult morning on Rodalies, the Catalan commuter rail network. Speaking in an interview on RAC1’s El Món, Illa said he understands the drivers’ “mood” but that improving working conditions cannot come from making the service harder to run. “Han de fer propostes”, he said, meaning the drivers should make proposals.
Commuters heading to work or study faced trains running outside their usual schedules, and Rodalies said journeys may take longer than normal. The operator asked passengers to check the screens and monitors in stations for the status of each service.
What Rodalies and Renfe said
Renfe, the state rail operator, reported early on Monday “incidents related to drivers and trains”. Rodalies management later acknowledged that the problem is a union dispute. According to the report from El Nacional’s news service, it forms part of demands for greater safety on the rail network after the accidents at Gelida, Adamuz and now Urda.
Illa avoided calling the situation a hidden strike. He said the way forward is dialogue, not what he described as an attitude of not being at work, which he believes is what happened on Monday morning.
Why it matters for commuters
Daily users have long complained about a lack of information that prevents them from planning their journeys. Illa addressed this directly: “The first right users have is to know the real state of the service,” he said. For now, the operator’s guidance is to rely on the displays in stations, since trains may run late or off schedule.
The weekend was also difficult at stations, according to the report.
Illa’s timeline for improvements
Rodalies problems have been among Illa’s main headaches since he became president of the Generalitat (the Catalan government) in 2024, partly thanks to an agreement with ERC on transferring the service to Catalonia. He defended his government’s record and the investment in upgrading the network, saying that until now it “did not work as it should”.
He pointed to the start of next year as the moment for the first visible results, citing the doubling of the track on the R3 line, one of those that has accumulated the most problems. “At the start of next year tangible results will be seen,” he said, adding that as works finish the service should improve progressively.
Position on the transfer of Rodalies
Illa also said a possible change of government in Madrid, from the Socialists to a pact between the PP and Vox, would not alter his government’s position in favor of transferring the Rodalies system to Catalonia.
What to watch next
The drivers’ dispute over network safety remains open, and neither Rodalies nor the Generalitat has announced a deal. Passengers can follow service status on station screens.
Source: go.eln.cat
