Years and years of poor service, of mistreating passengers, of broken promises, of delays, of breakdowns, of old, overcrowded trains, of new trains that also break down, of a lack of investment, of works that drag on, of alternative services that don't work, of poor maintenance and of poor surveillance, have accumulated in relation to the management of the operation of Renfe and Adif in Catalonia, for which their directors and the politicians who are ultimately responsible should assume responsibility with all the consequences. The excuses of one and the other are no longer credible.
The chaos experienced yesterday on high-speed trains due to two breakdowns that have affected hundreds of passengers has put the finishing touch to a very complicated week in mobility that began last weekend when union protests forced the cancellation of a hundred commuter trains, information trains, etc., which are added to the already habitual delays. The regional minister for Territory, Sílvia Paneque, requested an urgent meeting with representatives of Renfe and the Ministry of Transport for this Sunday to try to resolve the mess and, despite asking for forgiveness, she reproached the previous governments of the Generalitat for not having done enough to improve the service, but received criticism from the opposition, who reminded her of dahlias.
Political squabbles over the management of the Cercanías have been a constant, and it is clear that they will continue. However, now, for the first time in many years, there is the same governing party in Madrid and Catalonia, and it seems that the punishment of disinvestment should have ended in order to begin working together to improve the service. This should be one of the great priorities of the Isla government: to manage to eliminate this historic deficit by aligning all the administrations in this objective. It will possibly be here where the socialists, Catalan and Spanish, will play their credibility in Catalonia the most. Because, let us not forget, a simple search on the internet shows how all the governments for more than a decade have promised millions to improve the railway service and have assured that now yes that the problem will be fixed. Nobody believes promises anymore, least of all users.
It can be said that there are already investments underway and that the works are slow. Agreed. But in the rest of the issues it must act. The company and its workers must demonstrate the minimum professionalism that the citizens of Catalonia deserve. If there is a covert strike, if there is a lack of attention or bad practice, if there is a deficit in the information service to the user, if there is not enough surveillance or maintenance, in all these cases it is necessary to act, sanction and apply measures to solve the problems. If there is a lack of investment in personnel, it will be necessary to put the issue on the table. And if political or technical management does not work, it will also be necessary to assume responsibilities. What is clear is that enough is enough.
