Allan just sent me a private message expressing concern about some journeys he has planned when he visits Catalonia soon. I think it’s important to reply publicly here.
I gave quite a bit of thought to my earlier replies about trains in Catalonia at the moment, because I knew this might happen 🙂 and I don’t want to unnecessarily stress out those of you who are already planning to visit Catalonia anytime soon.
From the outside, it’s hard to gauge just how chaotic things really are and what level of uncertainty there is. The natural reaction is to think “nothing works”… and that’s not quite like that. Every day, millions of Catalans still move around using public transport. Commuting to work, school, the doctor… it all still happens. In more rural areas, sure, more people rely on cars, but plenty still use public transports.
> COMMUTING AND REGIONAL TRAINS
First of all, it’s worth pointing out that the issues are limited to the rail network managed by ADIF, which is the one used by RENFE Rodalies. This is the biggest network indeed. But they don’t affect the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) train network, which runs perfectly fine. The catch is that these are separate networks serving different parts of Catalonia, so they’re not interchangeable. If you want to get to X by train, you might have to take RENFE; for Y, it’ll be FGC.
Secondly, there’s a pretty solid bus network with multiple operators. Sometimes the issue is frequency, maybe only a few buses a day on certain routes, which doesn’t always fit your schedule, but reliability is generally good.
And then there are taxis in many towns, well, at least the ones of a decent size. For one-off shorter distances, they can be a practical alternative to the train, although, obviously, quite a bit more expensive.
That said, right now there are works on many RENFE lines, and that does mean frequent delays, reduced train frequency, and trips that start on a train but end on a bus due to unexpected issues. Quite a few people have simply switched to buses altogether until things are properly sorted. Because of that, bus fleets and frequencies have been increased, but at certain times and on specific routes, demand still exceeds supply, so long queues happen. Getting the rail network fully back to normal will take time. No matter how much money, effort, or people you throw at it, these kinds of large infrastructure works take as long as they take.
Does that mean there are no trains at all in Rodalies? No.
Some lines are indeed fully closed for long periods. For example, the R3 line between Barcelona and Vic is expected to remain shut until well into 2027 due to major works. Others only have partial closures that will gradually be resolved. Some lines are running with speed restrictions while works continue in parallel, which means delays or fewer trains, but not a complete shutdown. Yeah, some days are more chaotic than others, as you see in the news, and there have been moments where things felt a bit… much less developed than you’d expect for the place you're visiting. Trust me, we know!
Still, it's not end the of the world.
That’s why it’s important to keep an eye on the live service updates on https://rodalies.gencat.cat/en/alteracions_del_servei/index.html and make sure you understand which line you actually need via https://rodalies.gencat.cat/en/linies_estacions_i_trens/ or check the map at https://www.renfe.com/es/en/suburban/rodalies-catalunya/maps
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