The railway chaos exposes the flaws in Illa's government's Rodalies program.

BarcelonaFor the second day in a row, Catalonia remains without commuter rail service following the derailment of a train in Gelida due to the collapse of a retaining wallThe government announced Wednesday night that service would resume Thursday morning, but a few hours later, commuters heading to the stations found that, yet again, the trains were not running. While the opposition attacks the government, led during the president's medical convalescence by the Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau, the government defends itself: it points to the train drivers as responsible and has already announced an investigation into Renfe for failing to provide the service. "Safety is non-negotiable, but we also can't play with citizens' mobility like this," said Pere Macias, the commissioner for the transfer of the commuter rail network. Meanwhile, unions are protesting the state of a network that has suffered decades of underinvestment and experiences incidents every week. with the specter of the accident in Adamuz (Cordoba) where 45 people died as a precedent.

So, why did the government announce the resumption of service if it wasn't guaranteed? Executive sources claim they did so because there was a document from Adif (the Spanish railway infrastructure manager) confirming that the network was safe enough for trains to resume service. However, Dalmau had already indicated, in a press conference alongside the Minister of Territory, Silvia Paneque, that the situation could be "complex," also from a "labor relations" perspective, suggesting that the train drivers might rebel and stage a covert strike. "But we had no confirmation of any strike," sources from the President's office point out. In statements to Catalunya Ràdio, the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, attributed the refusal to resume service to the "moral state" of the train drivers after the fatal accidents, and not to the condition of the infrastructure.

The dispute between train drivers and the Catalan government highlights the limitations of the Generalitat (Catalan government) in controlling the commuter rail service, which it has managed since 2010, when the partial transfer was signed. At that time, the Generalitat assumed its management, regulation, and planning; that is, its capacity to manage schedules and fares. However, two of the elements that continue to cause the government the most headaches in managing the railway chaos remained in the hands of the central government: the infrastructure of the rail network—which includes the tracks and overhead lines—and the personnel.

The future of the transfer

The newly created joint venture that must complete the transfer of Cercanías (commuter rail). It was presented a few days ago. Owned by Renfe (50.1%) and the Generalitat (49.9%), the company will, once the transfer is complete, be responsible for the entire service, starting with the R1 line. However, the situation of the train drivers will not change; it was agreed that they would remain employed by Renfe. This decision generated much controversy, but it was ultimately approved by the Catalan government, the unions, and the ERC party, with whom the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) reached an agreement on the transfer of the commuter rail network. In any case, the step forward in the governance of the commuter rail network that the Generalitat will take with this operation will not mean assuming total control—at least, according to the Ministry of Transport. Minister Puente maintained this Thursday that the commuter rail network is "non-transferable," given that a large part of it is integrated into the so-called general interest rail network. "It would be fragmenting something that interconnects everyone and serves everyone," he warned in another interview on Cope radio. The minister is referring to the fact that freight, regional, and long-distance trains also use the same tracks as commuter trains.

A recurring chaos

This is not the first time Salvador Illa's government has faced criticism for the poor performance of the trains. In March of last year, Illa ended up owing appear before Parliament as a result ofa week horribilis at your service, with passengers walking along the tracks due to broken-down trains between Gavà and Bellvitge-Gornal, disruptions on several lines, and a general blackout of information services at stations. The president apologized, and the government... They pointed to the lack of investment in infrastructure dating back to the time when the PP was in power. But Junts, in the Catalan government, also supports this. It's a cause even Puente acknowledges, although he argues that since Pedro Sánchez came to power in Spain (pressured by Catalan parties in Congress), efforts have been made to address it. "The commuter rail system suffers from underfunding and deteriorating infrastructure, and it also has a very unique route that runs through very complex terrain," he says. acknowledged this Wednesday

All parties in parliament have demanded explanations from the Government for this latest episode of chaos in the commuter rail system. Particularly forceful was the leader of Junts, Carles Puigdemont, who, in a video on X, asserted that Catalonia is experiencing a "collapse due to incompetence, dependence, and a lack of leadership." "The Government's propaganda has failed to withstand the reality of the country. And the time has come to say 'enough,'" he said. Puigdemont thus attacks the very core of what has been the strategy of Illa's government since it came to power in the Generalitat: to boast of good management and to be focused on improving public services.

The leader of ERC, Oriol Junqueras, echoed this sentiment: "The government of those who lecture on management has now been exposed. Moving towards the governance of the commuter rail network is essential," he added, referring to the transfer agreed upon by ERC during Pedro Sánchez's investiture. From the Comuns party, Jéssica Albiach called for a six-month audit of the tracks, with the results on the network's condition made public.

Sánchez, also in the crosshairs

While the Catalan government is facing criticism for the rail chaos, the Spanish government isn't exempt either. "This isn't an accident that happened suddenly. It wasn't by chance," criticized Ester Muñoz, the PP's spokesperson in Congress, pointing to Puente as responsible. In the PP's view, it's an "insult to intelligence" for the Spanish government to claim increased investment when, at the same time, the exploitation of the lines has increased with the entry of new operators like Iryo. The PP has already demanded that Sánchez appear urgently before Congress, along with Puente. —reports Andrea Zamorano.

From Vox, Santiago Abascal continues to point to the Spanish government not only as responsible for the chaos, but also for the deaths in Adamuz: "There is a complicit silence regarding a tragedy, which is not natural and has motivations, which happened for a reason; there were warnings from train drivers about what was happening and they didn't want to listen," he maintained.