The workforce of Renfe drivers and ticket inspectors in Lleida is almost completely renewed every year, as newly qualified professionals, mostly from outside Catalonia, request to leave once they have acquired sufficient experience. According to union sources, the high level of railway incidents in Catalonia makes it a "very unattractive place to work," although it allows staff to gain "a lot of skill in a very short time."
“"This is staff that never manages to consolidate. They come to Catalonia to access the public employment offer and in a short time they know how to manage the transfer of passengers from one train to another or the reversal of convoys that cannot continue the journey."
“"These workers leave when they already know the trade, which means starting from scratch every year with newly qualified drivers and ticket inspectors."
This situation is aggravated by the lack of personnel at ADIF in Lleida, which currently has between 50 and 55 workers, far from the 200 it had a decade ago. Unions regret the lack of staff for preventive maintenance and the outsourcing of these tasks, which leads to a "loss of knowledge of the territory and also a reduced capacity for reaction" to incidents.
Despite constant user criticism, the Rodalies service recently recovered passenger numbers to pre-chaos levels from two weeks ago. However, minor delays of up to 10 minutes were recorded yesterday on lines RL3 and RL4 due to speed limitations (50 km/h) caused by maintenance work in Castellnou de Seana and between Tàrrega and Cervera.
