The Generalitat will manage the new Cercanías de Catalunya (Catalan commuter train), but the company will remain with Renfe indefinitely.

BarcelonaThe Generalitat (Catalan government) will control the board of directors of the new operator that will take over the Cercanías (Commuter Rail) network, but the majority of the company's shares will remain in the hands of Renfe. sine die, While waiting for the government to make a move to reclaim its majority if it deems it necessary. This is the agreement reached by the government, the Ministry of Transport, and the Left, which was officially announced this Thursday at the Palau de la Generalitat (Catalan Parliament). The new company is a new rail operator (like Renfe or FGC) and will be called, as planned, Cercanías de Cataluña (Catalan Regional Railway). Starting in January, it will manage short- and medium-haul trains within the territory and will have its headquarters in Barcelona—although the location has yet to be decided—and an initial capital of €2 million. Initially, the Republicans had proposed limiting the period during which Renfe would continue to hold the majority shareholding to two years. However, during the course of negotiations, Oriol Junqueras's party agreed not to limit it so as not to "corset" the transfer, according to ERC spokesperson Ester Capella.

At a press conference, the Regional Minister for Territory, Silvia Paneque, and the Secretary of State for Transport, José Antonio Santano, argued that the new operator represents a further step in the "comprehensive transfer" of Cercanías (local trains) and will ensure better service locally. Although Santano asserts that "it is not a subsidiary of Renfe," the new company is slightly tilted toward the State: Renfe will retain 50.1% of the shares, and the Generalitat will retain 49.9%. This follows protests by Renfe workers, especially train drivers, who fear taking away labor rights with the change. "The company is part of the Renfe group for two reasons: because it was now time to guarantee labor rights, and secondly, because this shortens the timeframe for the new operator to obtain the licenses and permits necessary to operate in a very rigorous sector," said Santano.

To try to offset this dependence on Renfe, Catalonia has played the governance card and will have greater influence on the board of directors, the decision-making core of any company. Of the nine ministers, five will be proposed by the Generalitat (Catalan government) and four by Renfe. Furthermore, Renfe will cede one of these seats to worker representatives, who will be able to participate in any "alteration" of shareholding. The company's president and CEO will also be nominated by the Catalan government. "If anyone wants to add insult to injury on this issue, they will be wrong. It was a triumph, and today will be marked as the beginning of a fundamental change in Catalan public mobility," Paneque emphasized.

"The important thing is that governance is Catalan," both the minister and Capella have been keen to emphasize. Paneque has asserted that the bylaws provide that "the Generalitat may request a change in ownership [of the shares]," but if this occurs, "an agreement between the parties and with the workers will also be required." This means that, in practice, the Generalitat's obtaining a majority in the company must be agreed upon with Renfe. And if there is no agreement? In this case, Paneque has explained that the difference of opinion will be resolved based on what is stated and established by "the shareholders' agreement," an internal company document that has not been made public. "We are not thinking in terms of confrontation, but rather of understanding within the framework of a public company," Paneque explained.

And if the legislature falls?

With Thursday's announcement, the President of the Generalitat (Catalan government), Salvador Illa, has crossed off the list one of the pending commitments with the Republicans since his investiture, which already came from the pact for the comprehensive transfer sealed by ERC and the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) during Pedro Sánchez's investiture. However, given the uncertainties arising in the Spanish legislature following the outbreak of the Cerdán case, neither Paneque nor the Secretary of State have wished to assess what would happen to the agreement presented this Friday if the central executive of the PSOE and Sumar were to fall. "We are not contemplating a change of government in the short or medium term," the minister and government spokesperson stated.

Territory and Transport—both in Socialist hands—argue that decisions to move forward with the transfer with the new operator will be made by "consensus," but these plans could be completely altered if the PP or Vox were on the other side of the table. In any case, the political agreement to create the operator should be approved by the Council of Ministers this July.

The three-way pact on commuter rail comes while we wait to find out what happens with the other major measure of the investiture agreement between the PSC and ERC: the one-off financing. The government maintains its objective, although it is to comply in a timely manner and sign the pact before June 30, but both Republicans and the Spanish executive admitted, even before the outbreak of the Cerdán case, that negotiations had slowed downAnd the alleged corruption scandal involving former PSOE leaders has only made things more complicated.