Commuter rail services on Catalonia’s Rodalies network remained suspended on Thursday morning, despite expectations that operations would begin to restart gradually during the day.
Spain’s national train operator RENFE said the continued stoppage was due to what it described as ‘operational causes’. Stranded commuters across Catalonia were calling it an ‘unofficial strike’ by train drivers, aside from the official 2-3 day stoppage scheduled for 9-11 February that unions representing train drivers in Spain have announced.
All Rodalies lines were halted throughout Wednesday following a fatal accident late on Tuesday night in Gelida, near Barcelona, when a train on the R4 line crashed. The incident left one dead (a trainee driver) and dozens of passengers injured. ALSO READ: One dead, 37 injured, as commuter train ploughs into rubble of collapsed wall near Barcelona.
The crash followed Sunday night’s train tragedy in Adamuz, Andalusia, where the death toll has now reached 43 people. ALSO READ: Death toll rises to 43 as royals visit train crash site and Spain starts three days of mourning.
Late on Wednesday, the Catalan government had announced that Rodalies services would resume on Thursday, warning, however, that the recovery would be phased and that commuters should brace for a ‘difficult day’.
Although trains were expected to begin running again from 6am, no services were operating at that time. Authorities have since confirmed that an inquiry into RENFE will be opened over the failure to restart services.
The Semaf train drivers’ union had already indicated that drivers would not return to work, insisting they require a written document from Spain’s rail infrastructure manager Adif detailing the safety measures that have been implemented.
At several stations on Thursday morning, customer service staff were informing passengers that no trains were running, while access to platforms was in many cases closed.
Anticipating widespread disruption on Thursday, the Catalan government said it would boost capacity on the bus network. Authorities also temporarily lifted toll charges on the Garraf highway and requested that bus operators increase services.
Albert Dalmau, Catalonia’s regional presidency minister and acting head of the regional government while Catalan president Salvador Illa remains hospitalised from a rare infection, said RENFE must resolve ‘all internal problems related to their working agreement’.
Following developments overnight, the Catalan regional government confirmed it would launch an inquiry into RENFE because ‘it is not offering the service it is required to offer’, Pere Macias, a member of the Rodalies transfer committee, told reporters at a press conference.
‘We cannot accept the situation, as the security has already been granted [as Adif reported], and it is affecting mobility to thousands of Catalans,’ Macias added.
He concluded that the Catalan government would ‘ask for those responsible, whoever they are, to face the consequences’.
RENFE was scheduled to meet representatives of the drivers’ union on Thursday morning in an effort to restart Rodalies services as soon as possible.
Antonio Carmona, RENFE’s spokesperson in Catalonia, told Catalunya Ràdio that drivers were demanding ‘several measures that they believe are not being complied with’. He said trains were ‘safe’ and that there was a ‘will to restart the service’, although drivers were seeking additional assurances.
Separately, train drivers across Spain are set to strike on 9-11 February following the recent accidents in both Adamuz (Andalusia) and Gelida (Catalonia). The Semaf union said the strike is the ‘only legal way’ for drivers to ‘call to recover security standards’ across the country’s rail infrastructure. ALSO READ: Train crash probe points to possible damaged track, amid uncertainty over cause or consequence.
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ℹ️Informació de servei sobre l’estat de la xarxa ferroviària de Rodalies. pic.twitter.com/aa1rEWmgK5
— Govern de Catalunya (@govern) January 22, 2026
📢INFO
🔴No es presta servei per causes operatives
🔗En aquest enllaç pots trobar el teu justificant per descarregar: https://t.co/V2f5OsxoxA
➡️🚍🚇Consulta les alternatives al canal de cada línia
➕Info: https://t.co/84fRRoFuuT
— Rodalies Catalunya (@rodalies) January 22, 2026
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