Passengers travelling from Lleida to Barcelona face fewer high-speed rail seats this week, after the Plataforma Usuaris AVANT Catalunya said 400 daily Avant places had been lost. The group says the reductions particularly affect workers from the Ponent counties, 90% of whom use the service solely to get to work.

Kevin Bruque, spokesperson for the passenger platform, told COPE Catalunya that technical problems affecting train chassis had led to units being removed from service and replaced by lower-capacity Alvia trains. Renfe had not commented in the material published by COPE.

Early service has more than 100 fewer seats this week

The 07:05 service from Lleida to Barcelona, one of the busiest departures, has 476 seats this week, compared with 581 previously, according to the platform. It said tickets for that train had been sold out for several days.

  • 400: daily Avant seats lost on the Lleida–Barcelona route, according to the platform.
  • 476: seats offered this week on the 07:05 departure from Lleida.
  • 581: seats previously available on that service.
"The service has worsened overall," Bruque said, describing repeated reassignments without a guaranteed seat.

Passengers report queues and last-minute alternatives

Bruque said the uncertainty made it difficult for commuters to balance work and family commitments. The platform also reported overcrowding and long queues at stations, including cases in which ticket-holders could not board because there were no available seats.

Some passengers have left the train service and travelled by private car or car-sharing for journeys of more than 170 kilometres, the group said. Bruque warned that winter fog could add risk on the roads.

"This situation is causing a great deal of irritation and even rivalry between passengers," Bruque said.

The platform said it had met Lleida City Council, the Diputació de Lleida, the provincial authority, and the Generalitat, Catalonia's regional government, but had received no concrete response. It has proposed, with the CCOO trade union, creating a Catalan high-speed rail operator to take over and directly manage the service.

For the immediate journey, the platform said passengers should expect the 07:05 Lleida–Barcelona service to have 476 seats this week, rather than its previous 581.

Reported by cope.es, COPE.