Train services across Catalonia's Rodalies and Regionals networks will become chargeable again from 9 May, according to an announcement last week by Councillor Sílvia Paneque. The councillor stated that 90% of regular passenger numbers had recovered and that "with the progressive withdrawal of temporary speed limits, measures like free travel are no longer needed."

This date marks almost 110 days since the Gelida accident, which resulted in the death of a trainee driver and the start of what officials called the worst crisis in Rodalies' history. Since then, both Rodalies and Regionals services have been free, a measure imposed by the Generalitat and promised to continue "until normality is recovered."

Three and a half months on, some main corridors have returned to normal service. This week, the R4 line will operate fully, removing the shuttle service between Terrassa and Manresa. However, about ten lines still have sections cut or are undergoing works. The latest, an unplanned cut, affects the R13 line between Sant Vicenç de Calders and La Plana Picamoixons for two months due to urgent repairs needed for tunnels with serious deficiencies.

Partial Service Restorations

This week sees three sections restored. Beyond the R4 shuttle removal, the R3 line will extend its route to Ribes de Freser, having previously only run from La Garriga to Ripoll. The R15 line, cut for three and a half months, will operate from Reus to Móra la Nova.

These two latter restorations are only partial. Services will remain suspended on the Ribes de Freser to La Tor de Carol section of the R3 and the Móra la Nova to Riba-roja section of the R15. Additionally, approximately 50% of trains are running, with bus services still in place.

Restored sections include:

  • R3: Ripoll to Ribes de Freser
  • R15: Móra la Nova to Riba-roja
  • R4: Terrassa to Manresa (R4 now fully operational)

Beyond frequency, user platforms have criticised travel times. Anna Gómez, spokesperson for Dignitat a les Vies, explained: "It has reopened with 12 speed limits, double what the Generalitat said." Adif's map shows six sections where trains cannot exceed 30 km/h and one more at 20 km/h. "There is no normal service, no matter how much they try to sell it," she told Nació.

Unexpected Works Cause Delays

One sign that normal service is far off is the number of lines with ongoing works. Some have been planned for a long time, such as the R3 duplication, which cuts the entire southern section, works in Montcada that cancel the R7, and repairs in the Garraf tunnels. These Garraf works affect not only the R2 Sud but all Regionals lines connecting Barcelona with Camp de Tarragona and the Ebre region.

Recently, the R11 and RG1 lines also saw their services reprogrammed due to planned works on the bridge over the Ter in Flaçà, affecting the section between Flaçà and Sant Miquel de Fluvià.

However, the two-month closure of the R13 between Sant Vicenç de Calders and La Plana-Picamoixons came as a surprise. This line was already not running between El Prat and Sant Vicenç due to the Garraf tunnel works. The R13 works will continue until 6 July and include maintenance on two tunnels, plus urgent repairs on two others in a very precarious state. These infrastructures, inaugurated almost 150 years ago, are extremely narrow and, in some cases, show visible cracks, as images from 3Cat reveal.

This situation is similar to the Rubí tunnel, where a risk of collapse forced a complete closure for several weeks, blocking freight traffic which had to take a seven-hour detour via Manresa and Lleida. Although Councillor Paneque and Secretary of State for Transport, José Antonio Santano, recently confirmed the reopening of one track, the second will remain closed until the end of June. Consequently, the R8 is not expected to resume full service until five months after the Gelida accident.

Nil Magrinyà, president of the Association of Friends of the Railway of Valls and Alt Camp, believes the closure is necessary to improve the railway infrastructure given its current state. However, he criticised the planning of alternative schedules and services as "rushed, late, and poorly done." His organisation fought for at least one direct bus between Valls and Sants station, avoiding at least two transfers, but this service was not available on Monday morning. "The service is as bad as ever," he said.

End of Free Travel

On 5 February, Paneque stated in Parliament that "free travel will extend until the system is sustainably stabilised, for as many days as needed." Three months later, has it recovered? Renfe data indicates 96% of the usual service is offered and 90% of regular passengers have returned. However, buses remain essential for the R3, a section of the R8, and almost all southern Regionals lines.

Dignitat a les Vies believes officials are "trying to sell normality to charge for a service that was not optimal even before the crisis began." Its spokesperson added: "We cannot accept being made to pay because we already pay with our health." From Valls, there is also a call for free travel to continue until the R13 works are finished. "We agree that the service should be paid for, but it has to work to be worth paying for," Nil Magrinyà said.

Montse Ayats, spokesperson for the R3 user platform, looked beyond the end of free travel, stating: "It is not a measure, but the consequence of trains that do not work." The organisation considers it "very serious" to have part of the line closed for over three months, with no date for the reopening between Ribes and La Tor de Carol. She also criticised the councillor for claiming the R3 service is "normal" when only the central section operates at half capacity.

Renfe sources confirmed that payment will also be required for services offered by road. Passengers will need to show a ticket or pass for the affected section, but tickets cannot be bought on the bus. "It will have to be done online or at the destination station," the sources added. Many stations in affected sections lack staff or self-service machines, and in some cases, bus services operate far from the actual station.

Currently, the following sections are cut:

  • R3: Ribes de Freser to La Tor de Carol
  • R8: Martorell-Central to Rubí (bus service between Martorell-UAB)
  • R13: Sant Vicenç de Calders to La Plana Picamoixons
  • R15: Móra la Nova to Riba-roja

Sections cut due to prior or planned works include:

  • R3: Barcelona to La Garriga (until January 2027)
  • R7: Cerdanyola to Cerdanyola Universitat (until May 2026)
  • R13, R14, R15, R16, and R17: El Prat de Llobregat to Sant Vicenç de Calders (road service or diverted via Vilafranca)

Sections with shuttle trains:

  • RL4: Manresa to Terrassa Estació del Nord (transfer required to complete journey with R4)

Sections with limited service:

  • R3: La Garriga to Ribes de Freser (50% service with bus support)
  • R2 Sud: Sant Vicenç de Calders to Barcelona Estació de França with two trains per hour in each direction, stopping at all stations (single track between Sitges and Garraf)
  • RG1 and R11: Reduced service due to works between Flaçà and Sant Miquel de Fluvià (single track operation)
  • R15: Reus to Móra la Nova (50% service with bus support)