Antoni Bassas' analysis: 'We are not noticing any improvement in commuter rail services'

Today the commuter train is not running.Not a single line. Last night, a wall collapsed onto a train between Gelida and Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, resulting in the death of the train driver, who was in training. There are about forty injured, four of them seriously. According to Adif, the Spanish rail infrastructure manager, the retaining wall collapsed due to the recent storms. Shortly after the accident, the government and Renfe (the Spanish national railway company) decided to inspect all commuter rail lines to ensure passenger safety, and service would not resume until they were completed. The result has been chaos, misinformation, anger, and thousands of people who were unable to get to work, school, or do anything else today because they had no alternative public transportation.

They found themselves at the stations, some even reaching the platforms, and no one was telling them what was happening. Once they found out, it was impossible for them to board the overcrowded buses, if there were any at all. Queues to get the exemption slip to go to work. A lost day, just another lost day.

Look, safety comes first and caution is understandable, but if every time it rains heavily they have to shut down the entire commuter rail service, they might as well close it altogether, because we're having more and more episodes of intense rainfall. Furthermore, Councilor Paneque said today on TV3 that the line is inspected every night. Well, how are they doing these inspections? Do they really need to be done again?

It's understandable that train drivers are pressing for their safety and that the government prioritizes everyone's safety. However, what's unacceptable is the lack of information and alternatives. It's unacceptable because, do you remember when Regional Minister Paneque summoned Renfe and Adif officials to Barcelona to address the usual chaos? It was in March of last year, 10 months ago.The parties agreed, and here it is, to hire more staff to "intensify" track inspections and reinforce Renfe's information and management centers, as well as the staff providing immediate assistance to users. According to the Minister of Territory, Silvia Paneque, incidents must be addressed "more quickly" and users must receive "excellent" service. Strengthening human resources at Renfe and Adif is one of the key ideas to emerge from the meeting. On the one hand, Adif's nighttime inspections—those that ensure the infrastructure is ready for the following day—will be reinforced, and the ongoing personnel selection processes to fill vacancies in technical positions will be accelerated. On the other hand, Renfe will reinforce its information and management centers and the staff who assist users in the event of incidents.

Where were all those people who were supposed to be checking? Where were all those people who were supposed to be reporting? No information, no alternative services, no commuter rail.

Commuter rail users and the entire country are victims of Spain's delusions of grandeur, which consist of paying for the second-largest high-speed rail network in the world, second only to China—a network that Spain clearly cannot afford because it is so expensive. And the price has been the structural neglect of the commuter rail system. They have spent everything on high-speed rail that they cannot afford. Today, it is impossible to travel on state-run trains in Catalonia. If this were happening in Madrid, there would be protests with people threatening to set fire to the minister's house with torches. Government: we are not seeing any of the improvements you promised.

Good morning.