Catalonia to reopen Rodalies next week, but 70 speed limits remain after fatal crash

Catalonia’s government says it plans to fully reopen Barcelona’s Rodalies commuter rail network next week, as it works through the operational fallout from a fatal accident on the network and a nationwide safety review.

Catalonia says it will fully reopen Barcelona’s Rodalies commuter rail network next week, but passengers are being warned not to confuse “reopening” with a return to normal. The system will restart with 70 temporary speed restriction points still in force, part of a wider safety clampdown that began after two fatal rail accidents, including one on the Rodalies network at Gelida, where a train driver was killed.

Those restrictions, imposed by infrastructure manager Adif after a round of inspections, are now the core reason services have stayed unstable. Some apply at single locations, others stretch over several kilometres, making it almost impossible for operators to keep to schedule even when trains are running.

Regional Territory Minister Sílvia Paneque said six remaining service suspensions on the network are expected to be lifted at the start of next week. She also set out a timetable for removing the newer restrictions: half within 15 days, and the rest during March. Restrictions that were already in place before 20 January will remain. “The results of the work carried out in recent days and the methodology implemented give us confidence,” Paneque said.

Strike over

The announcement lands just after Spain’s short-lived national rail strike, called by unions demanding what they described as a “structural and profound change” in rail safety after the Adamuz disaster, which killed 46 people, and the Gelida collision on Rodalies. The strike had been planned for three days, but SEMAF, the biggest train drivers’ union, called it off after one day, saying it had secured “all of their demands” in a deal with the Ministry of Transport, Adif, operator Renfe and the State Railway Safety Agency.

On Rodalies, the Catalan government is now leaning on tighter coordination between Renfe and Adif, with backing from Spain’s Secretary of State for Transport José Antonio Santano, whom Paneque portrayed as key to getting the two state companies to work in lockstep.

This week, Adif and Renfe technicians will begin trial “white march” runs over affected sections, with SEMAF representatives present to verify safety. The Catalan government says it will confirm reopening dates for individual services once those tests are completed. Paneque added that alternative transport measures will remain in place for the next two weeks, and free travel on Rodalies will continue until the system is “stabilised”. Regional officials have signalled that could run to the end of February.

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