Rodalies will be paid again starting Saturday, May 9, after maintaining free travel since the Gelida accident on January 20. The exceptional measure will remain in effect until Friday, May 8, the last day on which users will be able to travel free of charge on the Catalan railway network.
The Minister of Territory, Sílvia Paneque, framed the end of the gratuity in the progressive removal of temporary speed limits and in the partial recovery of the service after months of emergency works. The head of the department maintained that exceptional measures of this type are no longer necessary and specified that the usual payment system will resume on the 9th.
"It seemed to us that it was also the way to accompany users, and this gratuity will be maintained until next Friday, Friday the 8th, so that from the 9th onwards the usual payment system will be recovered" - Sílvia Paneque, Minister of Territory
The network recovers routes on three lines
Starting next Monday, Rodalies will recover routes on three lines relevant to Tarragona, the interior of Catalonia, and the Pyrenees. The R15 will once again run between Reus and Mora la Nova, the R3 between Ripoll and Ribes de Freser, and the R4 will complete its route again between Sant Vicenç de Calders and Manresa.
Paneque remarked that the improvement in the R15 will have a direct effect on users in Terres de l'Ebre and Camp de Tarragona. Regarding the R3, he defended that it represents an advance in the connection of areas linked to the Pyrenees. In the case of the R4, the recovery of the complete route will allow the elimination of the shuttle that currently operates between Terrassa and Manresa, with the consequent simplification of the journey.
"The R15 will be able to recover its route from Reus to Mora la Nova, therefore, with a notable improvement especially for users from Terres de l'Ebre and Camp de Tarragona" - Sílvia Paneque, Councillor for Territory
"And the R3 will recover the route from Ripoll to Ribes de Freser, which also represents a step forward towards the connection of the areas linked to the Pyrenees" - Sílvia Paneque, Minister of Territory
"It will once again make its full journey between Sant Vicenç de Calders and Manresa" - Sílvia Paneque, counselor of Territory
With these recoveries, the Rodalies network will be operating at 96% of what was functioning in January, a level that, in the words of the minister, guarantees mobility throughout the system.
Emergency and recovery works of the passage
The gratuity on Rodalies was activated after the accident in Gelida, which forced the suspension of all service in Catalonia and opened a period of urgent actions on the infrastructure. Paneque admitted that the network is not yet at a point of excellence, although he defended that significant progress has been made in recent months.
50 technicians and 400 workers have participated in the works, with 31 emergency actions focused mainly on the protection of slopes and trenches. The councilor considered that deployment as one of the key elements for the progressive resumption of routes and the reduction of incidents arising from the state of the infrastructure.
In parallel, emergency works already planned at different points on the network are being maintained. Among them are the section between Falset and Ribarroja d"Ebre and the situation between Ripoll and Puigcerdà, where the traffic cut facilitates work in tunnels.
Paneque assured that during April, 90% of passengers have been recovered compared to January. For the Government, this data reflects a recovery of user confidence in the service after weeks marked by restrictions, cuts, and operational limitations.
Performances in Garraf and debate on investment
The Secretary of State for Transport, José Antonio Santano, also updated the status of the work on the Garraf line. He explained that in tunnel 96 bis, eight pillars on the mountain side have already been worked on and that in the coming days, work will begin on the pillars on the sea side with the placement of concrete.
He also announced that the formwork will be prepared for intervention on the Garraf viaduct and that work is also continuing on the Aiguadolç viaduct, as part of the ongoing actions on that railway corridor.
On the political level, Paneque referred to the rejection in Congress that prevented the approval of the investment consortium and pointed out that the Government looks favorably upon a proposal promoted by ERC to cover the infrastructure deficit and move towards management from the territory. The minister insisted that there is still no closed formula, although she assured that alternatives with a similar objective are being studied and with the will to maintain a cooperative institutional relationship closer to the reality of the Catalan network.