Platja de Castelldefels is a Rodalies de Catalunya railway station serving the beach district of Castelldefels, in Catalonia, Spain. It is located at about south of the main town and less than from the beach, making it very busy during the summer months but almost deserted in winter. It is served by some trains on Barcelona commuter rail service line .

Overview

The station has two platforms connected by a footbridge and, since November 2009, an underpass. Trains arriving from Barcelona stop at platform 1, on the opposite side of the railway tracks from the beach. There have been several accidents caused by passengers directly crossing the tracks rather than using the footbridge. A 19-year-old woman was killed by an on-coming train while crossing the tracks on 4 March 2009. On the evening of 23 June 2010, the station was the site of the

Castelldefels train accident The Castelldefels train accident occurred on 23 June 2010 when a passenger train struck a group of people who were crossing the railway on the level at Platja de Castelldefels station to the southwest of Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain. Twe ...

in which 13 people were killed and 14 people were injured when an Alaris intercity train from

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in th ...

to Barcelona ploughed into a large group of people who were crossing the lines. The only trains that stop at the station are those of the Barcelona commuter rail service. Regional services from Barcelona to Tarragona and Tortosa, as well as long-distance services to Valencia and

, also pass through the station. These non-stopping trains can pass through the station at speeds of up to . The safety of the station, particularly the problems of allowing large numbers of passengers to leave the station, was criticized after its refurbishment in 2009 by members of Castelldefels town council. In November 2009, one council member, Àngels Coté said "on

St. John's Eve Saint John's Eve, starting at sunset on 23 June, is the eve of celebration before the Feast Day of Saint John the Baptist. The Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:26–37, 56–57) states that John was born six months before Jesus; therefore, the feast of J ...

he night of 23 June, a major celebration in Cataloniait could become a rat trap 'una ratera'' and the months of July and August as well." The town council also had official discussions on the subject with Adif, the owner of the station. However, it is clear that the passengers crossing the tracks could have used a bridge that is situated at one end of the platform, even if this would have involved a short additional walk.

References

External links

Platja de Castelldefels
listing at Rodalies de Catalunya website
Information and photos of the station
at trenscat.cat {{Castelldefels Railway stations in Baix Llobregat Rodalies de Catalunya stations Transport in Castelldefels