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BARCELONA’s commuter rail system Rodalies is slowly returning to service after a fatal crash three days ago.
On Tuesday evening, a train driver died and almost 40 passengers were injured after the R4 service between Gelida-Sant Sadumi came off the track. The collision occurred when a retaining walls collapsed on the line due to heavy rain.
This was Spain’s third fatal rail accident within three days. In Adamuz, Cordoba at least 45 people were killed when carriages of a high-speed Iryo train bound for Madrid crossed an adjacent track and collided into an incoming train headed to Huelva.
Drivers refused to operate services in Barcelona on Wednesday and Thursday due to safety concerns, causing travel chaos throughout the region.
READ MORE: BREAKING: Spain sees third rail crash in a week – six injured in minor incident
Renfe, Spain’s state-owned train operator, announced that services would slowly resume on Friday following a deal reached with the Catalan Government, the union of train drivers Semaf and Adif. Adif is the company responsible for managing Spain’s rail network.
Under the terms of the agreement, 13 inspection teams – each with representatives from Adif, Renfe and trade unions – carried out thorough checks on all 13 Rodalies lines overnight.
The first line to reopen was the R2 northbound on Friday morning.
The network warns passengers that they can expect delays of up to 30 minutes.
Rodalies is used by around 400,000 passengers every day.
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