News
Tourists rate Rodalies: cheap and useful, but old and unreliable
Thousands of tourists use Rodalies this summer to leave Barcelona and reach beaches, towns and other Catalan cities. For many, it is their first contact with the network, and the experience produces very different opinions: they value being able to travel without a car and the prices, but also note ageing trains, difficulties buying tickets and frequent delays.
Sants station becomes one of the main meeting points between visitors and regular travellers every day. Tourists from the United States, Portugal, China and the Netherlands use the same trains as thousands of residents and inevitably compare the service with public transport in their places of origin.
Some Chinese travellers point to the worn appearance and noise of certain trains compared with more modern rail networks. The perception changes among US visitors, for whom being able to travel through a large part of Catalonia by public transport is especially convenient compared with cities where virtually any journey requires using a car.
Difficulties also arise before boarding the train. Some tourists explain that buying tickets in person is straightforward, but that they encounter errors or price differences when they try to do so online. Others miss systems more widespread in their countries, such as being able to access services directly with a bank card or mobile phone.
These first impressions arrive at a particularly delicate moment for Rodalies. Following the fatal Gelida accident in January, the network has endured months of works, incidents and punctuality problems. In June, only 50.5% of trains met the scheduled timetable and the average delay was around 22 minutes.
The recent eclipse again showed that fragility in the middle of the tourist season. The large number of travellers who tried to travel from Barcelona towards Tarragona saturated Sants station, while an incident in Castelldefels caused delays and reduced the frequency of some services during one of the summer’s highest-demand days.
Despite the problems, Rodalies remains a fundamental tool for those visiting Barcelona without a car. Its extensive network makes it possible to turn coastal towns and inland municipalities into day trips, something many foreigners value even when they point out shortcomings in comfort, information or punctuality.
Tourists’ perspective thus adds another gauge to a service accustomed to criticism from its regular users. In a summer of crowded stations and constant journeys towards the coast, Rodalies not only shapes the routine of those who live in Catalonia: it also forms part of the first impression thousands of visitors take away of how Barcelona works beyond its streets.