Rodalies Hit by Delays as Users Back Drivers Before Strikes
Rodalies and Regional trains ran late on Nov. 9 and the R7 stopped, as the Generalitat blamed drivers and Semaf blamed Renfe ahead of strike days.
Rodalies commuter trains and Regional trains in Catalonia ran late across the network on Monday, Nov. 9, with some services suspended and the R7 line not running, according to La Vanguardia. The disruption comes just before stoppages called by the main train drivers’ union, Semaf, for Tuesday and Thursday, and a general strike on Wednesday.
The Generalitat (Catalan government) blamed the drivers. Rodalies users’ platform Dignitat a les Vies called the day “una vergüenza” (a disgrace) and defended the drivers’ right to seek better working conditions.
What Rodalies says
Òscar Playà, director of Rodalies, said the disruption stems from the Spain-wide dispute involving Renfe drivers. He appealed to the drivers’ “responsabilidad” (sense of responsibility).
According to Playà, drivers broke a series of agreements on rest rules. That pushed Rodalies to apply the “turnos reglamentarios” (regulation shifts). Under these, drivers must start and end their day at Sants station in Barcelona and then travel to wherever their train is, instead of going straight there.
What the drivers say
Semaf sources told the news agency EFE that the day’s problems were not a hidden strike. They blamed “la falta de previsión” (lack of planning) and the “incapacidad” (inability) of the rail operator to adjust drivers’ duty schedules.
What users say
In a statement, Dignitat a les Vies said “workers have the right to defend decent working conditions” and that everyone has the right to demand accountability from whoever runs the service. It objected to attempts to turn Rodalies users into “adversarios” (adversaries) of the workers.
The platform also questioned the decision to change drivers’ rotations while a labor conflict is under way and a strike call is pending, saying this adds tension. Its spokeswoman, Anna Gómez, said Semaf calls a strike, Renfe responds by pressuring drivers, and users are the ones who suffer. She also criticized that, hours before Tuesday’s stoppage, no posters had been put up in stations warning passengers.
Why it matters for commuters
Rodalies and Regional services are already running off schedule before any strike begins. The Semaf stoppages on Tuesday and Thursday and the general strike on Wednesday fall within the same week. Reports differ on the cause of Monday’s delays: the Generalitat points to the drivers, while the drivers point to the operator’s scheduling.
Source: La Vanguardia
