Rodalies season tickets stopped being free on Saturday after more than one hundred days in effect, a measure that the Government activated after the accident on January 20 in Gelida, where a wall fell on an R4 train and a trainee driver died.
The end of that gratuity coincides with a network that still drags limitations in several points of Catalonia. While the tickets return to being paid for, the trains on lines RL3 between Lleida and Cervera and RL4 between Lleida and Terrassa continue to run with speed restrictions in fourteen sections, with limits of up to 30 kilometers per hour in some cases.
Paneque links the end of free access to a network that has not yet recovered normality
The Minister of Territory, Sílvia Paneque, defended that the bonus responded to a general alteration of the service and to the impact that the Gelida accident had on the entire railway system.
"The decree of free service was activated due to an anomalous situation that affected the entire Rodalies system. It seemed to us that it was also a way to support users" - Sílvia Paneque, Minister of Territory, Generalitat de Catalunya
The network, however, maintains limitations that affect both conventional services and high speed. On the corridor between Lleida and Barcelona, AVE trains run at 230 kilometers per hour instead of 300 in six sections.
Paneque admitted that the infrastructure has not yet reached the expected level, although he defended the continuity of the work to correct incidents and gradually improve the service.
"The Government knows that the railway network is not at the point of excellence but it is necessary to move forward with determination towards its progressive improvement" - Sílvia Paneque, Minister of Territory, Generalitat de Catalunya
About 450 professionals have worked on tracks, slopes, and trenches
Since the activation of measures following the Gelida accident, about 50 technicians and 400 workers have intervened in the network to correct anomalies and reinforce the protection of slopes and trenches.
That deployment has not yet eliminated all operational limitations. In the Lleida environment, restrictions continue at fourteen points on lines RL3 and RL4, two services that connect the capital of Segrià with Cervera and Terrassa.
Also in Lleida, the weekend has seen the closing of the Sant Anastasi festivities, which ended with high participation and without serious incidents. The balance of Friday's "correbars" includes a 9-year-old girl injured and five other people treated by the SEM.
Larrosa confirms that the drone show will return after Sant Anastasi
The mayor of Lleida, Fèlix Larrosa, confirmed the continuity of the drone show due to the public's response during the main festivals. The city will now link the final stretch of the May festive calendar with new celebrations.
After the Puppet Fair, Lleida will celebrate the Moors and Christians next weekend and the Snail Gathering the following week, after Fèlix Larrosa ratified that the drone show will be repeated due to its good reception.