Rodalies Delays Reach an Hour After Rain and General Strike
Rodalies trains ran late on Nov. 12 after rain and the strike left trains out of position. Lines R1, R2Sud, R4 and R8 saw delays of up to an hour.
Rodalies (the commuter rail network of Catalonia) started Thursday with disrupted service. According to Catalan media reports, trains did not reach the ends of their lines in time for the first departures, so frequencies were irregular on many lines. On the R1, R2Sud, R4 and R8, delays reached an hour and some trains were cancelled.
The operator expected the situation to return to normal over the following hours and asked passengers to check the state of service before leaving home.
Why trains were out of place
Rodalies director Oscar Playà told Catalunya Ràdio that the main cause was a taxi service the company hires to take train drivers to their starting points. By his account, the taxis reached the drivers too late in the early morning, so trains were not ready at the line terminals when service had to begin. He ruled out any strike action by the drivers and apologized to passengers, saying the problem should not happen and that the company will fix it.
Rain added a second problem. Playà said some rolling stock broke down in the wet weather, which led to cancellations, mostly on the R1 and R2. He said delays were getting shorter and service was recovering from about 8 a.m.
Rodalies said many drivers also could not reach their workplaces after the general strike because of traffic problems caused by picket lines. Reports differ on the day of that stoppage: one source places the general strike on Wednesday, while 3Cat refers to Tuesday.
What Rodalies and Renfe did
Renfe (Spain’s national rail operator, which runs Rodalies trains) arranged replacement buses for the first journeys of the day on several lines. Company sources told 3Cat that buses were placed at all line terminals and that road transport was reinforced at other points of the network.
Early in the morning, 3Cat reported delays of up to an hour on some R4 trains and about half an hour on the R2. Social media users complained of waiting at stations for trains that did not come.
Why it matters for commuters
The morning follows an irregular week for Rodalies. Service has been uneven since the weekend amid a labor dispute over railway safety, following the accidents at Gelida, Adamuz and Urda.
On Tuesday, the effects were especially heavy, with many delays and cancellations. According to the sources, many drivers did not work even though the Spanish government had set minimum services, and the Generalitat (Catalan government) has said it is open to starting disciplinary proceedings against them. For the general strike, minimum services were set at 25% during rush hours and none outside them. The drivers’ union Semaf did not back the general strike.
Background on the network is in the guide to Rodalies lines, tickets and delay refunds.
The drivers’ strike moves to Nov. 23
Semaf, the main union of train drivers, had also called a strike for Thursday. It called that off after the government of Pedro Sánchez approved a royal decree-law with urgent measures to strengthen operational safety on the railways. The union moved the strike to Nov. 23 to ease the negotiation while keeping up pressure. The union says it wants “facts, not promises.”
Sources: go.eln.cat, 3Cat 324
