New fines of up to €900,000 for graffiti on trains

Catalonia has approved a new law to increase sanctions for painting graffiti on trains.

The new law triples the fines laid out in the regulation, with the intention of setting a deterrent.

Minor offenses will now carry fines of up to €18,000, serious offenses will be punished with sanctions of up to €90,000, while very serious offenses can be met with levies of up to €900,000.

The modification of the law was supported by all parties in parliament except for the left-wing Comuns and far-left CUP.

The law also includes, among the infractions, "destroying, deteriorating, altering or modifying" any element of the service, "including all rolling stock," as well as "the creation of graffiti on the railway infrastructure or rolling stock that causes its blurring and requires a total or partial stop in such a way that the normal operation of the infrastructure is altered."

The text includes in the explanatory memorandum that, according to Renfe data, the cost of cleaning graffiti on trains was €11.6 million in 2023, equalling around €32,000 per day.