First day without trains between Tarragona and Barcelona due to works on the Mediterranean Corridor. Thousands of users of the lines that connect the two cities – usually around 12,000 daily – have had to resort to alternative routes since Tuesday, in a start of the Renfe and Generalitat system which took place without serious incidents, with some delays specific. and with many travelers ending up using a private vehicle.
The first morning of the Alternative Transport Plan in the regions of Tarragona, according to Renfe the most expensive it has carried out so far, took place “normally” but “without triumphalism”. This was the assessment of the Secretary for Mobility of the Generalitat, Manel Nadal, and the president of Renfe, Raül Blanco. “There was no chaos”, defended the first, in reference to the fears expressed by Internet users in recent days.
However, delays have been recorded on some trains due to the lack of adjustments in bus schedules, although these are “specific cases”, according to Rodalis director Antonio Carmona. On this first day, the perception in stations like Tarragona or Sants, in Barcelona, is that there were fewer travelers than usual and that users looked for alternatives, such as private vehicles and high speed from the Camp station from Tarragona.
The works in Roda de Berà, to adapt the tunnel to the international gauge, will maintain the interruption of rail traffic until March 2 next year between Tarragona and Sant Vicenç de Calders. Users must travel between the two locations by bus and then continue the journey to Barcelona by train, which adds about another 30 minutes to the journey.
Nadal admitted that a portion of users have made changes to their mobility and that it will be necessary to see if there has been a “substantial increase” in the use of private vehicles. For the moment, neither the Secretary of Mobility nor Renfe officials have wanted to provide data on the number of users.
Nadal recognizes that it is “obvious” that there will be complaints from citizens due to changes in habits, but he recalled that the work is “very necessary”. Likewise, he is committed to introducing improvements if necessary, based on the analysis that will be carried out day by day of the alternative transport system, which includes, among other measures, 661 daily bus lines.
For her part, the spokesperson for the Dignidad en las Vías platform, Ana Gómez, said that some drivers got lost, but that the buses circulated without notable incidents. “We hope that the service does not deteriorate throughout the day,” said Gómez, who added that travelers who opted for the private vehicle did so so as not to serve as “guinea pigs.”
Five hours in advance to avoid missing a flight
The cases were very varied this Tuesday in the stations concerned. Juan Monsalve left Tarragona five hours early to go to the airport so as not to miss a flight; Andreu Fernández took one of the first available buses at six in the morning to go to Barcelona to work, while Isabel Sastre was not sure from the morning how she was going to adapt to the schedule.
In Sant Vicenç de Calders, where the buses from Tarragona arrived, to continue the train journey via the R2 South, we could see scenes of passengers running, informants putting order and the movement of buses around from the station. Some riders described the situation as “hell” and the bus system as “maximum stress”.
One of these passengers, Vanessa, explains that she was traveling from Torredembarra to Sitges, where she works as a high school teacher, and that her bus arrived 25 minutes late. “We hope that tomorrow will go better and I prefer not to think that five months like this await us,” he assured. Others, like Jordi, question the benefits the work will bring, which they believe will result in an increase in the trafficking of dangerous goods.
In addition to the extraordinary cutting operation in Roda de Berà, from 8:00 a.m., there is the daily cutting of the R4 between Sant Vicenç de Calders and Vilafranca until 7:00 p.m., also due to works on the Mediterranean corridor.
Great speed to get to work on time
While some regular travelers on regional lines in the south opted for private vehicles, others resorted to high speed from Camp de Tarragona. “I made ten one-way trips with Avant during the first ten days of the cut and I will return with the alternative transport plan,” said one of the travelers, Cristina Giménez.
The spokesperson for Dignidad en las Vías, however, regretted that no solution has been found to the lack of parking spaces at the Camp de Tarragona station, since many users have to park in the surrounding lots, where theft and can be punished. In addition, he also complained that tickets cannot be validated from Tarragona.
The Tortosa-Barcelona service returns
At the same time, the start of the five-month reduction in the southern corridor coincided with the resumption of the Avant high-speed service between Barcelona and Tortosa, long claimed in Terres de l’Ebre. It will be a daily return service which, on paper, should cut travel times by an hour, but which has attracted criticism from riders due to the price of tickets and pass compared to other lines in Catalonia, up to 40% more. , according to the Diaspora Ebrenca collective.
On the other hand, from Barcelona, travelers who made the opposite journey to go, for example, to Salou-Port Aventura, were surprised by the difficulties in reaching their destination. According to some users, when buying the ticket, no one informed them of the incident or of the fact that they will have to change trains for the bus upon arrival in Sant Vicenç de Calders, which in a few hours will record again a point. influx of travelers returning home after spending the first day of the alternative plan.
