Sant Vicenç de Calders station in Baix Penedès is among Catalonia’s most affected rail sites for graffiti, according to Renfe data. The station has recorded 21 incidents since the start of the year.
That places it behind only Montcada-Bifurcació, with 31 incidents, and Barcelona’s Estació de França, with 23. Cornellà and Granollers Centre each recorded 22 cases.
Renfe says graffiti remains a wider problem across Catalonia’s rail network. The company filed 970 complaints in the region during 2025, after cleaning 55,100 square metres of train surface, an area it compares with seven football pitches. It says the cost reached €7.4 million.
The impact is not only financial. Renfe says graffiti can immobilise two trains a day on average, especially when paint affects drivers’ visibility. In those cases, the operator may need to use reserve trains or change planned compositions. Last year, about 1.4 million passengers experienced delays, reduced capacity or timetable changes linked to graffiti.
To respond, Renfe has increased surveillance at sensitive points, including Sant Vicenç de Calders. It says it now runs six dynamic night patrols, uses drones to monitor facilities, and has tested a canine surveillance unit. The company also plans to install new volumetric and infrared cameras that will automatically activate drones when suspicious movement is detected.
Cleaning is also being sped up. Renfe says Catalonia currently has five graffiti cleaning points, in Ripoll, Sant Andreu, Estació de França, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat and Vilanova i la Geltrú. It plans new facilities in Reus and Sant Vicenç de Calders. The operator says new cleaning products have reduced removal time from about an hour to around 15 minutes.
For more Catalonia rail coverage, see our news page. Renfe’s corporate information is available on its official site at renfe.com.