Paneque in the spotlight for commuter rail: the plenary session will vote on its disapproval.
The Commons and the CUP propose extending free commuter train service until 2026.
BarcelonaThe monographic debate on Cercanías The meeting will close on Thursday, with Sílvia Paneque, the Minister of Territory, Ecological Transition, and Housing, in the spotlight. Junts, Esquerra, and the CUP (United Left), the CUP (United Left), and the CUP (United Left) are calling for her censure in the proposed resolutions to be voted on tomorrow. However, the members of the council are going even further and are also demanding her dismissal. In the coming hours, the groups must negotiate their proposals, and it remains to be seen whether they reach an agreement for any of the requests for censure to be approved. The support of the three pro-independence groups and at least the PP (People's Party) bloc, which has already said it will vote to censure the minister, as has Vox, would be needed. The Comuns (Commons) have not yet commented on the matter.
In fact, the only request that Jéssica Albiach's group includes in their proposed resolutions is that Adif officials "assume political responsibility" if the service has not been resolved within six months. On the other hand, the Republicans are directly demanding the resignation of the president of Renfe, Álvaro Fernández, and the president of Adif, Luis Pedro Marco. The PP, for its part, is attacking the Socialists from the other flank and is targeting the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, whom it is demanding be reprimanded.
The transfer of Cercanías
The transfer of the Cercanías (Commuter Rail) network is one of the issues that several groups are putting forward in their proposals. Both the Socialists and the Republicans defend their different steps to achieve this, such as the new operator starting operations next year. ERC, however, is taking the opportunity to set a new date: by July 1st of this year, they want Renfe to have an inventory of the assets, financial resources, and human resources that will have to be transferred to the new operator. On the other hand, in line with what they have been advocating in recent months, Junts demands a "real and effective" transfer of the entire Cercanías, Media Distancia, and Avant networks and that it be managed by "a 100% Catalan public company in conjunction with Ifercat and Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat."
On the other hand, the Republicans also advocate for implementing a training plan for train drivers and maintenance personnel that, when the time comes, Avoid a boycott by Renfe and Adif staff during the operation. A measure also defended by the PSC, which also wants to schedule the transfer of lines R1, R2 Sur, R3, R4, and R16. It is a gesture of goodwill toward the Republicans after they have had to swallow a toad that, For at least two years, the new commuter rail operator will be a subsidiary of the Renfe group Due to pressure from unions, the PP, on the other hand, is asking the Spanish government to halt negotiations with the Generalitat (Catalan government) over the transfer of commuter rail services.
Free commuter rail services until 2026
The CUP and the Comuns (End Party) propose free commuter and medium-distance trains for at least one more year, until 2026, if neither the State nor the Government can guarantee that the trains will run at the same time (or even at all). The CUP members specify a deadline of 2026, while Jéssica Albiach's group advocates maintaining the discounts until the service "operates normally." Currently, users can travel free of charge with a Ministry of Transport pass, but this measure will expire on June 30, 2025. The Socialists, for their part, do not mention this issue in their proposals, but support implementing, starting in 2026, a "joint flat-fare system for commuter and regional trains." The PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) also advocates seeking "mechanisms" to "reduce price discrimination based on different travel distances" between regional and commuter trains during the second half of 2025.
The groups are also putting forward proposals to improve coordination between the relevant administrations, keep users informed of incidents, and update the Commuter Train Plan. The Commuter Trains (Junts), for example, advocate an emergency plan to geolocate trains (and thus unify information about the service) and also call for the creation of a "Commuter Train Coordinator" proposed by the Catalan government, who would be responsible for implementing this Commuter Train Plan. Jéssica Albiach's group also takes the opportunity to ask the government to focus on trains in the face of this crisis and immediately shelve plans to expand Barcelona airport.
On the other hand, Junts and the CUP (Party of Catalonia) point to the historical disinvestment of the state in Catalonia in this area. In fact, the Cuperos will request that a committee be established in Parliament to study how much the Spanish government owes the Generalitat (Catalan regional government) for unexecuted suburban rail projects in recent years. The ultimate goal is for the state to transfer this money to Catalonia as compensation.
