Antoni Bassas's analysis: 'Monday and nothing. La Candelaria weeps on the commuter rail platforms'

As expected, Monday has arrived and today's train lottery has brought no luck. Renfe has ended up offering road service where it cannot yet provide rail service.

Most sections are being covered by bus because inspections of tracks, embankments, and other elements near the railway lines are ongoing. This is yet another failure, which Renfe's spokesperson in Catalonia, Antonio Carmona, has tried to cover up by pointing out that the Catalan government said mobility would be guaranteed today, and it was, because the combination of trains and buses provided public transport options. The problem is, this isn't true. Last Tuesday, Minister Paneque said that today, Monday, there would be "normal" service, just as it operated "before the crisis," because the closures and bus service were expected to continue until Friday, and that the closed sections could be "gradually reopened" over the weekend. Therefore, the government expected service to resume on Monday without any alternative plans, with "normal" commuter rail service. Well, no. The norm continues to be a lack of servicePere Macias explained this morning that, based on what the Catalan government knew on Friday, it seemed there would be service today, but that now the reviews are very rigorous. In any case, the failure of the commuter rail service is a failure of the Catalan government, originating in Madrid, but when hundreds of thousands of Catalans cannot expect to travel normally, it is the Catalan government that has failed.

Read this report by Abril Lozano, with the graphic title: "I've even cried on the platform out of helplessness."

Cases of people who live in Sant Fruitós de Bages and work in Barcelona, ​​or who live in Gelida and travel to Vilafranca del Penedès, or who live in Girona and travel to Barcelona, ​​or who have to travel from Granollers to Castelldefels—all physically and emotionally exhausted, with experiences like no one being picked up, waiting for hours at the station in the early hours of the morning without receiving any clear information. Or having to ask someone to come and get them by car when the commuter train fails: "I end up begging my partner, friends, or family to come and get me. I need a network of people to rescue me."

So, we're a country crying on the platforms and in need of a bailout. And that bailout must be massive and long-term, because climate change is going to increasingly cripple rail services. And even then, it won't be enough. Political will is essential. And let's be clear: no Spanish government has ever prioritized mobility in Catalonia.

Good morning.