Commuter rail: our time is worth less than their inefficiency

The country is experiencing chaotic times, and we can't look the other way. Given the situation with the commuter rail system, a direct consequence of the territorial inequality accumulated over the last fifteen years, I ask myself a simple but uncomfortable question: who really pays for these costs?

For a moment, I'm not referring to those who resign, but to those who compensate for the lost time of the population: Andrea's work hours, Judit who, without alternatives, won't make it to her Catalan class on Monday morning, or Carlos who has been preparing for the MIR exam for years and hasn't been able to get there. We're talking about real lives disrupted by a public service that has fallen short.

If I were to accept an incorrect draft of my tax return prepared by the Tax Agency itself, the administration would penalize me and add a surcharge. As one of my professors used to say: the administration is power. But who penalizes it? If we've lost work hours these past few days, we must make them up. If we miss an exam, we've lost the opportunity. There are no surcharges for citizens here, nor automatic compensation mechanisms.

For once, let's stop talking only about interest rates, investments, and budget execution percentages, and talk about what's really being eroded: time, opportunities, and public trust. Every delay isn't just a technical issue; it's a forced resignation, a postponed decision, a lost workday. All of this has a cost that doesn't appear in any official balance sheet.

Perhaps the time has come to demand accountability that goes beyond apologies and statements. Not only to improve the service, but to acknowledge the damage caused and establish real mechanisms for redress. Because a state that doesn't take responsibility for its mistakes sends a dangerous message: that citizens' time is worth less than its own inefficiency.