The commuter rail systems of Spain's major metropolitan areas are called Cercanías () in most of Spain, Rodalia () in the Valencian Community, Aldiriak () in the Basque Country, Rodalies () in Catalonia and Proximidades () in Galicia. There are fourteen Cercanías systems in and around the cities and regions of Asturias, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cádiz, Galicia, León, Madrid, Málaga, Murcia/Alicante, Cantabria, San Sebastián, Seville, Valencia and Zaragoza. They are linked to Metro systems in Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia.
The Cercanías division of Renfe was created in 1989 on the advice of engineer and transit planner Javier Bustinduy (es; 1949–2016), as part of a major effort to massively increase ridership, frequencies and hence attractiveness of commuter rail systems in Spain. Cercanías systems are gradually in the process of being transferred to the regional autonomous governments; the first such system to be transferred was the management of the former Cercanías Barcelona/Rodalia Barcelona to the Government of Catalonia and renaming to "Rodalies de Catalunya" (including all regionals) in 2010. The second, and last so far, was the transfer of both Basque systems, Bilbao and San Sebastián (and the right to declare a third in Álava) to the Basque Government in 2025. The Madrid Cercanías network was the target of the 2004 Madrid train bombings. The attacks, which killed 191 people in Santa Eugenia, El Pozo and Atocha stations, were the bloodiest terrorist actions in Spain to date.
List of networks
System Name Major Cities Served Annual patronage (2024) Lines Stations Length (km) Cercanías Madrid Madrid 241,690,000 10 90 370 Rodalies de Catalunya Barcelona 117,480,000 16 228 615 Cercanías Valencia Valencia 20,980,000 6 66 252Cercanías Málaga Málaga 17,130,000 2 26 70 Cercanías Bilbao Bilbao 14,610,000 4 63 100.5 Cercanías AsturiasGijón, Oviedo, Avilés8,370,0009143383.2Cercanías SevillaSeville 7,440,000 5 37 251Cercanías CádizCádiz, Jerez de la Frontera7,250,00021361Cercanías San SebastiánSan Sebastián 5,280,000 1 30 80.5Cercanías CantabriaSantander 5,020,000 3 62 178Cercanías Murcia/AlicanteMurcia, Alicante, Cartagena 3,150,000 4 41 222Cercanías Zaragoza Zaragoza 310,000 1 6 16.6Cercanías LeónLeón129,00014498.3Cercanías GaliciaFerrol26,50012452.2
Rolling stock The Cercanías services use the following rolling stock. In 2021, Renfe announced the purchase of 59 Stadler KISS trainsets to complement the fleet. Series Area Image 433 Asturias 435 Asturias 436 BilbaoAsturias 438 Cantabria 442 Madrid 446 BilbaoMadridCantabriaSevilla 447 CataloniaValenciaMurcia/AlicanteSan SebastiánCantabriaCórdoba 450/451 Madrid Barcelona Civia AsturiasCádizMadridBarcelonaMálagaSevillaValenciaZaragozaCantabria 526 Asturias León 529Galicia, Murcia/Alicante592Murcia/Alicante Valencia
References
External links RENFE Cercanías website See also Cercanías on Ferropedia