Renfe Drops Sants-Only Start Rule for Rodalies Drivers From Sunday
Renfe and train drivers agreed to restore pre-Nov. 1 shift rosters on Rodalies from Sunday, ending the Sants-only start rule behind a week of delays.
Renfe (Spain’s state rail operator) and its train drivers agreed on Friday to go back to the shift system that ran on Rodalies (Catalonia’s commuter rail network) until Nov. 1. Drivers will no longer have to begin every shift at Barcelona Sants, the rule that left early trains without a driver this week. The old rosters return from Sunday, according to both Renfe and the union representatives.
The deal came out of an afternoon meeting of the works council, the body that represents Renfe staff, according to reports citing the Catalan news agency ACN. Commuters have had a week of delays and cancellations while the dispute ran.
How the Sants rule disrupted morning trains
The trouble began on Nov. 1, when SEMAF, the train drivers’ union, decided to break the existing shift agreements. Renfe responded by redrawing the work rosters and making Sants the single station where drivers could start their day.
Some of the first shifts begin in the small hours of the morning. Several drivers could not reach Sants in time to take over the trains assigned to them, and the knock-on effect hit service throughout the week.
What each side said about the deal
Union sources quoted by ACN called the return to the earlier rosters necessary and said it would help both staff and passengers. Renfe said it was pleased to have reached an agreement with the works council and to return to the arrangements in place before Nov. 2.
SEMAF welcomed the move back to the service rosters that ran until last Friday, when, in the union’s account, the company replaced them with strictly regulation-based ones. The union also argued that Renfe had been unable to manage the complexity of running the network on shifts that follow the rules to the letter. According to SEMAF sources, covering the service depends on drivers showing goodwill and accepting more flexibility than they can legally be required to give.
What it means for Rodalies passengers
From Sunday, drivers will again start their shifts at the stations and times used before Nov. 1. That removes the cause of the missed early departures that hit commuters this week.
The agreement covers only the rosters. It comes after weeks of continuing problems on Rodalies, made worse by the drivers’ strike, which brought delays and cancellations for thousands of passengers.
On Tuesday, Sants was again at the center of a hard day for rail travel, as minimum services were not met from early morning. At least 60% of scheduled trains were cancelled, even though the Generalitat (Catalan government) had set minimum services of 66% at peak hours. The disruption carried on into the next day, which coincided with the general strike, and minimum services were again not respected.
More talks on working conditions and safety
Renfe and the unions are keeping negotiations open on other pending issues. Both sides agreed to hold further meetings on the drivers’ working conditions and on measures related to worker safety. No dates for those meetings were given.
Source: go.eln.cat
