The interruption of railway freight traffic is total in Catalonia due to two critical points: a fissure in the Rubí tunnel, which prevents connection with France, and the interruption of the R4 line in Gelida, which blocks circulation towards Tarragona, Zaragoza, and the rest of the Peninsula.
This situation severely threatens the logistics chain, with international trains accumulated at the Le Soler station, in Perpignan, and Catalan factories saturated due to the impossibility of shipping products or receiving raw materials.
The impact on the Port of Barcelona is total regarding international traffic (865 annual circulations), while Iberian gauge traffic (6,740 annual circulations) is highly restricted, operating only via the coast line and exclusively at night, between 23:00 and 6:00 h.
The paralysis is having serious consequences on the entire logistics and supply chain of Catalan companies.
The Port of Tarragona also suffers direct consequences. It is estimated that between last week and the current one, between 12,000 and 15,000 tonnes of goods have been prevented from moving, including steel material, cereals, automobiles, and chemical products, which remain loaded within the port facilities.
The connection with France via the Pertús Tunnel has seen only 26% of the planned traffic circulate since the Gelida accident. Furthermore, Adif had already tendered works last August for 23.3 million euros in the Rubí tunnel, which already presented "untreated cracks" and "filtrations".
