New disruptions to rail transport hit the Spanish region of Catalonia just a day after traffic was restored following a train accident that killed a train driver, DPA reported, BTA reported.
“The government is once again calling for a complete suspension of services on the “Rodales” suburban train network until the full functionality of the system is guaranteed,” Albert Dalmau, coordinator of the regional government in Barcelona, said on television.
Meanwhile, passengers were confused by contradictory official statements, with many of them stranded at stations.
The main concern was related to landslides on the tracks as a result of the heavy rainfall. Experts were to inspect all critical sections of the route during the day.
Early in the morning, the Catalan government initially announced that, according to the company “Renfe” and the railway operator “ADIF”, for safety reasons, it was not possible to maintain traffic on the entire railway network.
A little later, “Renfe” announced that some trains would still run.
In the early afternoon, it was reported that services had been completely suspended. Local media reported that fewer passengers than usual had ventured onto the trains, which are often unreliable even in normal conditions.
Rail transport in the Barcelona area was suspended on Wednesday and Thursday after a passenger train derailed on January 21 after a retaining wall fell onto the tracks due to heavy rain near Barcelona, killing the train driver and injuring about 20 people.
On January 18, a high-speed train bound for Madrid derailed, entering an adjacent track, where it collided with another moving train near the town of Adamus in the Andalusian province of Cordoba, killing 45 people and injuring 120.