The Rodalies service in Catalonia continues to be abysmal half a year after the fatal accident in Gelida that triggered an unprecedented railway crisis. In addition to the partial closure of the R2 Nord —which runs from the airport to Maçanet-Massanes, passing through Barcelona and Vallès Oriental— due to the sinkhole that appeared last Wednesday in the undergrounding works of the line in Moncada, this Saturday, there is a new closure of the entire R3 service, which runs from L’Hospitalet de Llobregat to Puigcerdà via Barcelona, Granollers, Vic, and Ripoll. The R3 closure, according to Adif, is due to an incident affecting the railway traffic regulation system, which has forced all trains to stop as circulation is unsafe. Renfe, on its social media, initially highlighted that this incident was due to the consequences of a new cable theft, although they later ruled it out.
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Regarding the R2 Nord, Adif announced this Saturday that in the early afternoon, the work to restore the ground affected by the sinkhole that opened on Wednesday in Vallbona during the undergrounding works of the line as it passes through Montcada has been completed. The infrastructure company has made the installation available to Rodalies this Saturday. The operator can now schedule test runs without passengers —the so-called ‘white runs’— prior to the reestablishment of the railway service. In fact, Renfe has already started these runs. Adif maintains that the measurements taken since Wednesday have not detected movements or alterations in the ground, the track platform, or the structures of nearby homes. The monitoring of the railway infrastructure and surrounding buildings will remain active.
The collapse was detected on Wednesday. The sinkhole reached a depth of 17 meters and a diameter of 19 meters. The displacement of earth also caused machinery and other construction materials to fall into the void. As a preventive measure, railway traffic was suspended between Montcada i Reixac and Sant Andreu stations. The interruption – which is still active – affected lines R2, R2 Nord, and R11. To stabilize the ground, Adif filled the lower part of the pit with 365 cubic meters of concrete. Subsequently, two pumps poured a total of 1,930 cubic meters of mortar 24 hours a day. The cause of the collapse has not yet been determined. Before Adif’s announcement, the Minister of Territory, Sílvia Paneque, announced that she expected traffic affected by the sinkhole to resume starting next week.
On the other hand, the R3 is, without a doubt, the most affected of the lines in this crisis that seems never-ending. It has been under construction since October, when a track closure began between L’Hospitalet and La Garriga, which was expected to last until May. In May, it was planned that the affected section would be reduced only to Mollet-La Garriga. These works caused the section between L’Hospitalet and Vic to be covered by bus; and by train between Vic and La Tor de Querol. After the accident on January 20 in Gelida, Renfe and Adif decided to interrupt service on the entire line, claiming that a series of works on slopes and tunnels were necessary. In mid-March, train service was reopened only between La Garriga and Ripoll. It lasted eight hours and had to be stopped again because there were objects on the track. That section operated intermittently. On July 6, the section between Ribes de Freser and Puigcerdà was reopened. It wasn’t open for even three hours; a tree fell and broke the catenary.
Despite the incidents, the sections from Puigcerdà to Vic have been operating this July. The section between L’Hospitalet and Mollet del Vallès should have opened in May, but the collapse of a wall from a cement factory in Montcada, last March 6, onto the train tracks has ended up delaying the process. Adif and the factory are litigating over who owns the wall and who is responsible for the incident. Meanwhile, Adif will take charge of rebuilding the wall, but the construction schedule has been delayed again, and it has been decided to reopen the entire work at once in January 2027, once the duplication of the line between Parets and La Garriga has been completed.
With all these ongoing incidents, this Saturday, circulation on Rodalies’ R3 line has been suspended due, according to Adif, to a new copper theft, and while Adif personnel work to resolve the incident, an alternative road transport service has been launched between Fabra i Puig (Barcelona) and Puigcerdà (Girona) stations. The section between L’Hospitalet de Llobregat and Fabra i Puig can be covered using the R4.
Currently, half of all cable thefts in Spain occur in Catalonia, where they put the affected sections out of service for an indefinite period, impacting thousands of travelers.
At this week’s Government press conference, the Minister of Territory and spokesperson, Sílvia Paneque, emphasized that, in parallel with the “forceful” action of the Mossos d’Esquadra, the Government intends to toughen penalties for the theft of cable and other elements of railway infrastructure.
Worker dies electrocuted on the railway line in Sant Mori (Girona)
A 66-year-old man died early this Saturday morning after suffering an electric shock while performing maintenance tasks on the catenary of the railway line in Sant Mori (Girona), the Mossos d’Esquadra reported in a statement.
The incident occurred around 03:00 AM, and his colleague transferred him to Camallera station, where despite the rapid action of emergency services with the AED defibrillator, his life could not be saved.
Several units of the Catalan police, two units of the Bombers de la Generalitat, and members of the Sistema d’Emergències Mèdiques (SEM) were dispatched to the scene.
