Hostages to infrastructure chaos
For the second consecutive day, Catalonia has experienced a railway paralysis and traffic chaos due to the closure of the AP-7 highway. This situation is unbecoming of an advanced economy and severely damages the credibility of successive governments, which have announced large investments that have subsequently failed to materialize. The Gelida accident can be attributed to the recent heavy rains, but the underlying cause is not this: it is the deplorable state of the entire commuter rail network, a problem that has persisted for decades and which no Spanish government has been able to remedy. While Spain boasts abroad of being a high-speed rail powerhouse, Catalan commuter rail users endure a daily ordeal of disruptions, delays, and a lack of information. To make matters worse, on Thursday, contrary to what their own government had told them, there was no commuter rail service at all. Therefore, the widespread outrage seen today is completely justified, and the Catalan government has been exposed. On the one hand, because yesterday it rushed to announce the restoration of service when the drivers' discontent demanded a more cautious approach, and on the other hand, because it has become clear that in practice it lacks effective leverage since the service is in the hands of the state-owned operator Renfe. In fact, last night, it was Renfe that announced the immediate—albeit limited—resumption of service on the R2 Nord line, and that almost all lines will be operational this Friday.
The Catalan government had sufficient indications to know—and it was their obligation to be aware of it—that the drivers would not report to work, as indeed happened. The same statement issued by Renfe on Wednesday afternoon already warned of this, and the unions themselves claim they alerted the Catalan government, although the Spanish government denies this. Meanwhile, Adif and Renfe have demonstrated their poor relationship, and the operator, moreover, its lack of control over train drivers. Whatever the reason, the result has been lamentable.
On the other hand, it's understandable that an accumulated investment deficit of decades cannot be resolved overnight and that a transfer of this complexity requires time, but it's incomprehensible that since 2010 only half of what was announced has been invested. All the forces present in the Catalan Parliament and Congress with Catalan representation should stand up to this situation and demand a radical change in the functioning of the ministries involved. Whether through the investment consortium agreed upon by ERC or the commitments of the Spanish government to Junts, a solution must be found urgently.
The disinvestment in rail could also extend to other key areas of mobility, such as the AP-7. The closure of southbound traffic is causing a chain reaction throughout the road network. This highway is the backbone that concentrates most of the freight transport that crosses Catalonia. Closing this road is tantamount to suffocating a major economic artery that already suffers, on a daily basis, from a critical situation.
We hope that the current crisis will help clarify these priorities and allow us to emerge from it with a clear action plan and timeline that offers a horizon of hope to the citizens who today, and for far too long, have suffered this chaos.