Election day for the Catalan Parliament brought an unexpected protagonist . An early morning copper theft at the Montcada-Bifurcació station caused a collapse at the station rodalies service the magnitude of the impact was such that the Electoral Committee considered extending the election day to compensate those who could not vote because of the incident, a measure that was finally ruled out.
After a chaotic Sunday, working Monday dawned in similar conditions. Representatives of the Generalitat, Renfe, Adif, Barcelona City Council and Mossos met yesterday afternoon to assess the situation and present an alternative mobility plan that allows, for better or worse, access to the city.
Last minute: chaotic Monday and two months of network disruptions
This Monday, May 13, the first working day after the incident, dawned with chaos similar to yesterday’s . Users have encountered that the trains end their route at the tickets to Barcelona, so you have to take alternative means of transport to get into the city. To compensate, TMB has put more subways in circulation than ever before to help move all the new users.
From the ticket, it was reported that some lines, such as the R3 and R4 could take up to two months to return to normal. For the time being, Renfe has launched 22 buses covering the stretch between Montcada station and Sagrera, which the Generalitat de Catalunya considers insufficient. At this hour, trains are already arriving at the Fabra i Puig stop, when this morning they did not go past Cerdanyola del Vallés.
On the other hand, the first deputy mayor, Laia Bonet, has advanced that the incidents generated by the two small fires that also affected the service this Sunday at the stations of Arco de Triunfo and Clot, could be resolved in a shorter period of time, so the situation will be fixed somewhat faster in the southern section of the city, on lines R1 and R4, which have not been able to make the usual route, since, at present, trains on line R1 do not pass Badalona station and those on R4 at L’Hospitalet de Llobregat.
For its part, the Catalan Traffic Service (SCT) warns of the possible delays on the main roads of the Catalan capital. Until 07:20 hours of this Monday have been recorded delays of more than 10 kilometers on the A-2 between Sant Joan Despí and Pallejà at the junction with the C-245. There are also three kilometers of slow travel on the AP-7 between Sant Cugat del Vallès and El Papiol. As usual, there are also long queues on the B-20 and on the B-20 between Santa Coloma de Gramenet and Barcelona. There are delays of more than six kilometers on the B-23 between Sant Feliu de Llobregat and El Papiol and on the B-24 between Pallejà and Cervelló.
So far in 2024, Rodalies has suffered 46 cable thefts that have caused various incidents. In the rodalies website the latest information on the status of the railway network can be consulted.
Alternative Mobility Plan: how Rodalies users can move around Barcelona
After yesterday’s meeting Adig, the Generalitat and the City Council have launched an alternative mobility plan that allows users to move around the city, strongly supported by the bus and metro service, which operates normally.
Thus, for this Monday, May 13, the mobility alternatives in Barcelona are as follows:
► R1/RG1: Circulation from Maçanet-Massanes to Badalona, from where passengers are diverted to the metro.
► R2 North/R11: Unaffected.
► R2 South and Regional South: Unaffected.
► R3: Circulation between Puigcerdà and Montcada-Ripollet, with two trains per hour and direction. From Montcada-Ripollet an alternative road service is provided to Sagrera-Meridiana station, where passengers can take the metro.
► R4 North: The trains were scheduled to run until Fabra i Puig and link with the metro, but until before 10 a.m. the trains end the route in Cerdanyola del Vallès, where you have to take the alternative buses to the Ferrocarrils. Three trains per direction and time between Manresa and Cerdanyola have been announced. During rush hour, there is 33% service, while the rest of the day it operates at 50%. Passengers from Manresa, Terrassa and Sabadell are redirected to FGC.
► R4 South: It has been announced that they would run from Sant Vicenç de Calders to L’Hospitalet de Llobregat with four trains per direction with the usual frequency, but some trains may arrive at Sants station.
► R7: It continues without service and passengers can go to Cerdanyola with the R4 and from there there there are buses to the UAB. There is also the Express Bus 3.
► R8: Not affected.
► R12: Circulation between Cerdanyola and Lleida.