The loudspeaker announces the imminent arrival of the train. The users, distributed along the platform, stretch their necks. One two Three. Three wagons instead of the usual six. Between renec and renec, the races begin. Travelers pile in and wait for the right place, for the doors of one of the three carriages to fall close to them. The train stops. Passengers get off, some with bikes, others with children, elderly people and a few suitcases. Then begins the conquest of the wagon. Only two people sit. The train has arrived late and full. The rest, stuck in the corridor and on the platform (an hour and twenty straight journey awaits them). They are so crowded that some passengers can no longer board.
In recent weeks, this scene has become commonplace. Especially in the mornings at Tarragona, Altafulla and Torredembarra stations in the direction of Barcelona and then in the opposite direction. And also on Sunday afternoons, when hundreds of students from the regions of Tarragona take the train to Barcelona and have to let them pass because there is no room.
Renfe acknowledges incidents on these lines and attributes them to the improvement works (until the summer they will affect the section between Vilanova i la Geltrú and Castelldefels due to the renovation of the tracks), to the works on the Mediterranean corridor and also that “the trains regionals accumulate for many years and generate many breakdowns”. Without being able to specify the extent of this reduction in wagons, the same sources warn that the replacement of these older trains is not planned until 2026 or 2027.
It is precisely the three-car trains (instead of the double-composition ones) that have triggered the indignation of many passengers. The continuous incidents and the consequent delays that R14, R15 and R16 have been experiencing for months (they all pass through Tarragona) have resulted in the creation of many WhatsApp groups in which, given the lack of information from Renfe, it is the same passengers who report on the departure of the trains.
With the worsening of the service, some of these users created, a month ago, the Dignitat a les Vies platform. They organized a first protest last Sunday in front of Tarragona station and since then have met with parties and politicians (the pre-election campaign helps) to demand urgent improvements to the service. Even the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, referred this week to the incidents and attributed them to the works, the collisions (for example, the one that on Tuesday caused the passengers of the train that had left at the 9.30 p.m. of Saints arrived at one in the morning in Tarragona), the theft of material and incivility. The reaction of the platform was not long in coming. “We understand that works are being carried out, but what we are reporting is an endemic, chronic problem, which dates back a long time and which the minister does not seem to be aware of”, maintains Anna Gómez, one of the promoters of the platform.
“When a train comes with only three carriages, this has nothing to do with cable theft or collisions. When a train gets stuck in Barcelona because there is a funnel, it has nothing to do with theft or hit-and-runs. When a catenary falls, it has nothing to do with that… and so, many other incidents”, adds Gómez. The platform has released a statement: “We have no patience or trust; we need both immediate solutions and solutions in view of the cut of the Roda de Berà tunnel planned for September”.
Renfe also highlights the increase in users that the entire Regional de Rodalies service is registering. During February there were 809,000 travelers, 15% more than the same month in 2023, and forecasts point to an increase during the summer, when tourists from the Costa Daurada travel by train to visit Barcelona and Barcelona residents move also by train to go to the beaches or visit Port Aventura. In addition, the service will be significantly altered again from September, when the works on the corridor between Sant Vicenç and Torredembarra begin, which will force passengers to travel between these two towns by bus.
This weekend’s works – planned at night or outside of weekdays to reduce the impact – will involve the diversion of 50% of regional trains through Vilafranca today and tomorrow (which will increase the journey by around 45 minutes) and single track between El Prat de Llobregat and Gavà due to the actions on the new access branch to the airport.
