1,500 hours of delays on Rodalies commuter trains reported in first half of 2025

The Catalan government has released new data on service disruptions in the Rodalies de Catalunya regional rail system this year. 

Data provided by the Territory Department in response to a request by the pro-independence left-wing Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya party reveals there were 175 "major" incidents occurred on 115 different days between January 1 and June 30.

The schedules of almost 6,000 trains were modified, leading to 1,500 total hours of delay and 1.1 million passengers affected. Criteria for how incidents were determined as notable was not included in the data. 

Rodalies' 17 lines, which are operated by national Spanish railway company Renfe, include both regional and Barcelona commuter lines. The vast majority of the breakdowns (82%) have been on regional lines.

The R15, which runs from Barcelona to Riba-roja d'Ebre via Tarragona and Reus, is the most affected line with 111 total incidents. 

The disruption that affected the most passengers (258,420 total) happened on April 28, caused by the power blackout that affected the entire country.

March 17, when a train driver's strike was announced, and March 3, when rail service between Tarragona and Barcelona resumed after five months of construction, were also particularly bad days for Rodalies passengers.

The situation on March 3, compounded by a power loss between Sant Vicenç de Calders and Cunit, forced Minister of Territory Sílvia Paneque to apologize and request to appear before Parliament.

In her response to the request for data, Paneque explained that disruptions in the Rodalies "can be caused by problems in the infrastructure and trains, track circuit occupations, the management of the driving staff, ongoing construction work at various points in the network, or external causes such as uncivil acts or fires near the railway network, which cause alterations, delays, or cancellations of trains."