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, We are waiting for the Government to make any move to reclaim them 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. According to the Regional Minister for Territory, Silvia Paneque, the shareholder changes will be made when "it is possible or the parties are interested," guaranteeing the service's operation and workers' rights.

The new company is a railway operator (like Renfe or FGC), will be called Cercanías de Cataluña, and will manage short- and medium-haul trains within the territory. It will have its headquarters in Barcelona—although the location has not yet been decided—and will have an initial capital of €2 million. Initially, the Republicans had proposed limiting the maximum period during which Renfe would continue to hold the majority shareholding to two years. However, during the negotiations, Oriol Junqueras's party agreed not to limit it so as not to "corset" the transfer, as acknowledged by ERC spokesperson in the Parliament, Ester Capella. In Pedro Sánchez's investiture agreement in 2023, both parties put in writing that the company would be "separated from Renfe."

In a press conference, Minister Sílvia 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 guarantee a better service from local sources. Although Santano asserts that "it is not a subsidiary of Renfe," the new company is slightly tilted toward the State: Renfe retains 50.1% of the shares, and the Generalitat will retain 49.9%. This comes after protests by Renfe workers, especially drivers, who fear losing labor rights with the change. "The company belongs to the Renfe group for two reasons," the Secretary of State admitted, "because it was now time to guarantee labor rights, and secondly, because it 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 within any company, as already stipulated in Pedro Sánchez's investiture agreement. Of the nine ministers, five will be proposed by the Generalitat (Catalan government) and four by Renfe. Furthermore, Renfe will cede one of those seats to worker representatives. The company's president and general manager will also be nominated by the Catalan government. "If anyone wants to add insult to injury on this issue, they will be wrong; it has been 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, who had also been the minister, have been keen to emphasize. Paneque 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 acquisition of the majority stake in the company must be agreed upon with Renfe. And if there is no agreement? In this case, Paneque explained that the difference of opinions 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 a public company," Paneque explained.

The struggle for governance also involves the Hospitalet machinist training centerPaneque and Santano have admitted that one of the key problems in the commuter train system is the high mobility of its drivers, and have therefore planned a specific line of work to address this issue. "We are seeking shared governance at the Hospitalet school to have more drivers based in Catalonia," the Secretary of State stated.

What if the term of office falls?

With Thursday's announcement, the PSC fulfills one of the investiture agreements with ERC, which, in turn, stemmed from the agreement to elect Pedro Sánchez as Spanish president. However, given the uncertainties arising in the Spanish legislature following the Cerdán case, neither Paneque nor the Secretary of State have been willing to assess what would happen if the PSOE and Sumar executive were to fall. "We do not foresee a change of government in the short or medium term," stated the minister and spokesperson for the Catalan government.

For Juntos, the agreement is not enough. "Today we confirm that there will not be a real transfer because the Cercanías (Commuter Rail) system will remain in the hands of Renfe," criticized MP Salvador Vergés, who called today's announcement "propaganda." Along the same lines, CUP MP Dani Cornellà called it "a complete scam." On the other hand, the Commons endorse the presented model, but warn that the important thing is to resolve the incidents that affect the day-to-day operation of the rail service. Its parliamentary spokesperson, David Cid, warned that the transfer cannot mean "a delay in the improvements the network needs," because citizens would not understand it.

The three-way agreement on commuter rail comes before knowing what will happen with the other major measure of the investiture agreement between the PSC and ERC: the one-off financing. The Government maintains its objective, however, is to comply with it in a timely manner and sign the agreement before June 30th. However, both voices from the 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.