The railway crisis claims its first two dismissals

BarcelonaA week later, the first dismissals have arrived due to the rail chaos in Catalonia: the operational director of Cercanías (commuter rail), Josep Enric Garcia Alemany, and the operations director of Adif (Spain's railway infrastructure manager), Raúl Míguez Bailo, were dismissed with immediate effect on Monday afternoon. Minutes before the announcement, the Catalan Minister of Territory, Silvia Paneque, had demanded that Renfe (the Spanish national railway company) and Adif take responsibility for another chaotic day on the tracks. This move was calculated behind the scenes in coordination with national officials. The Secretary of State for Transport, José Antonio Santano, announced on TVE (Spanish public television) that the dismissals had already taken place. "At this point, it is undeniable that without taking responsibility, we cannot move forward," he argued. Therefore, he explained that, with the approval of the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, he asked the presidents of Adif and Renfe to carry out both dismissals, among other things due to a "lack of coordination" that "is unacceptable." García Alemany was a government appointment who had put it second de facto the director of commuter rail in CataloniaAntonio Carmona, who does remain in his position.

By the time Paneque raised her voice publicly, everything had already been decided and approved. She had even pointed out the two areas where she was demanding accountability: the commuter rail service, due to the lack of coordination displayed in recent days, and Adif's maintenance. "It is unacceptable that when a service reopening is decreed," it is not followed "to the letter," the regional minister emphasized, adding that the lack of "preventive maintenance" on the infrastructure has exacerbated the consequences of "decades of underinvestment."

"We woke up to trains running, they started moving, and then they had to stop again. This cannot be, it is unacceptable, and we have demanded that there be consequences," the regional minister stated in her afternoon appearance. Intolerable This has been the most frequently used adjective by the government spokesperson, who lamented that the services "are not up to par" for the Catalan people, nor for the year 2026.

From solutions to dismissals

The government announced on Sunday that this Monday morning The commuter rail service would be gradually restoredBut nothing has gone as expected. Two technical incidents at the Adif command center They forced the service to be halted twice this morning, and shortly afterward, the executive, in a message to X, had already demanded "immediate solutions" from Adif and Renfe. The change in attitude developed throughout the day, although earlier in the day the president of Renfe, Álvaro Fernández Heredia, had explained that they hadn't been asked to resign, but rather that it was "time to resolve the situation." With these moves, the Generalitat is trying to focus the responsibility for the Cercanías (commuter rail) debacle on Renfe and Adif and thus defend Paneque's management. "The president is closing ranks with Minister Paneque. Now is the time to work on solutions," sources from the Presidency stated. In other words, the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, is ruling out dismissing the minister despite the calls for her resignation he has received from some parliamentary groups; not least, from one of his investiture partners, Esquerra Republicana. Paneque also stressed that he has the "energy" to continue and ruled out resigning.

Faced with the chaos, the Minister of Transport asked for "patience" and endorsed the cyberattack theory to explain Monday's strike. Puente, for his part, again admitted that the system of The commuter rail system is "tremendously obsolete" And he reiterated that they are investing "the maximum amount possible while maintaining the service." The Catalan government, however, has demanded that the Spanish government increase investments even beyond what was initially planned in order to resolve the structural problems as soon as possible. Neither government has convinced the opposition. "Minister Paneque and Minister Puente should resign given their disastrous management," insisted Junts spokesperson Josep Rius, reiterating the idea already expressed on Saturday by the party leader, Carles Puigdemont. ERC, the CUP, and the PP also demanded immediate resignations, and Vox called for elections. Dalmau requests to appear before the Catalan Parliament

During the president's convalescence, the Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau, is leading the Catalan government. He has therefore announced his intention to explain the commuter rail chaos this Wednesday in the Catalan Parliament. He will do so as acting president, as Isla remains hospitalized at Vall d'Hebron Hospital recovering from the osteomyelitis he was diagnosed with last week. In Madrid, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also announced his intention to appear before Congress on February 11.