Protecció Civil, the Generalitat's civil protection agency, ended a Ferrocat rail emergency pre-alert at about 8.10pm on Wednesday 12 August after heavy crowding at Barcelona Sants and Sant Vicenç de Calders stations. The alert had been issued before the eclipse, and commuters using Sants and the R2 Sud line also faced delays of up to 30 minutes.

Renfe and Adif, Spain's railway operator and rail infrastructure manager, reported the crowds to Protecció Civil. The agency said the situation had returned to normal when it lifted the pre-alert.

Protecció Civil asked travellers to exercise great caution and follow the instructions of the authorities.

Castelldefels signalling fault delayed R2 Sud trains

Rodalies, Catalonia's commuter rail network, reported that a signalling systems fault in Castelldefels had caused R2 Sud trains to run up to 30 minutes late. According to the report cited by Europa Press, the fault had been resolved.

The disruption affected passengers travelling on the southern section of the R2 Sud route, which passes through Castelldefels, as crowds built up at Sants.

  • Ferrocat pre-alert issued: Wednesday 12 August, before the eclipse.
  • Stations covered: Barcelona Sants and Sant Vicenç de Calders.
  • Pre-alert ended: about 8.10pm.
  • R2 Sud delays: up to 30 minutes after the Castelldefels signalling fault.

R16 service cancelled at Sants

Metrópoli reported that an R16 service from Estació de França to Tortosa was cancelled because of a public-order incident. Passengers were evacuated after the train had been held at the exit from platform 12 at Sants from 4.43pm.

The same report said passengers activated alarm systems after the lengthy wait. A social-media post embedded in the report alleged that people had been confined on the train for two hours, but that account was not independently confirmed by the rail operators in the supplied material.

Passengers travelling through Sants or on R2 Sud services that evening were advised by Protecció Civil to follow staff and authority instructions, allowing extra time where delays were reported.

Primary sources: govern.cat, rodalies.gencat.cat. Reported by Carla Stavraky, europapress.es, Tres Tristes Tigres, metropoliabierta.cat, lavanguardia.com, es.wikipedia.org, Pau Lizana Manuel, reusdigital.cat, metropoliabierta.elespanol.com.