Rodalies has suspended all service in Catalonia after drivers refused to run trains. Renfe and Adif say safety conditions are met, but passengers face road alternatives and an uncertain return to normal service.
At around 1:00 a.m., SEMAF told Rodalies it could not guarantee that drivers would report for the morning service. The operator could not provide the normal timetable. All Rodalies services in Catalonia were suspended.
Passengers at stations such as Sants have no reliable departure schedule or clear time for the restart. Buses and other road services are available, but they cannot carry the whole rail network.
The dispute concerns the technical documents that drivers want before returning to the tracks. Renfe and Adif say the required safety conditions are in place. The Ministry and the Sindicato Español de Maquinistas Ferroviarios, or SEMAF, support that position.
Drivers disagree.
Before the stoppage, a tree and part of an embankment fell onto a train near Vilafranca del Penedès. Nobody was injured, but the incident intensified drivers’ demand for additional guarantees before passenger services resumed.
The incident strengthened the demand for more guarantees before passenger services resumed. The result is a complete freeze at a time when travellers were trying to recover normal journeys after four days of intense bad weather.
Rodalies announced the suspension on X and posted the notice on station screens. Ticket machines at Sants also suffered interruptions. Passengers already waiting for information faced another problem.
The company recommended other forms of transport. It also made a justification document available to people affected by the disruption.
That was not enough.
Óscar Playà, director of Rodalies, said the scheduled service could not be guaranteed. The operator added replacement buses and other road connections, but those services do not cover every route. Travellers must choose between delayed alternatives and journeys with no confirmed timing.
According to reports cited by El Mundo, the decision was communicated at around 1:00 a.m., when SEMAF told Rodalies it could not guarantee that drivers would report for the morning service. The R1 line was initially expected to remain without trains, while gradual recovery on other routes was not guaranteed.
The R1 line was initially expected to remain without trains. Other routes might have recovered gradually, but normal service across the network was not guaranteed.
A separate restriction is in place between Tres Camins and Salou-Port Aventura after an incident involving a person. That closure is not linked directly to the drivers' refusal to circulate. It further reduces travel options in the Tarragona area.
Rodalies, Renfe and Adif say the infrastructure is suitable for train operations. Playà described the dispute as a labour conflict and said trains had run safely the previous day.
SEMAF says the agreed inspections and the full set of overnight technical reports were not provided. The disagreement is about those documents. It is not a planned strike with a published timetable.
The dispute follows several days of transport problems caused by severe weather in Catalonia. An earlier weather report described road closures and emergency rescues in Tarragona after four days of storms. That is the immediate background to the current safety dispute.
Passengers have been directed to buses, FGC, the metro and other public-transport options. Democrata reported that these services can help some displaced travellers, but they do not have enough capacity to replace the Rodalies network during peak demand.
Road alternatives remain limited.
The main question is who can certify that a return to service is safe. Renfe and Adif have issued their assessment. Drivers want the technical reports they consider essential.
Until the dispute is settled, replacement road services are the only organised option. They cannot match the capacity of the full rail network.
For passengers, the immediate advice is simple: check road alternatives, allow extra time and request the justification document if the disruption affected the journey. Rail traffic remains suspended. Rodalies has no guaranteed timetable and is operating a recovery effort under pressure from both the weather damage and the safety dispute.
