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

BarcelonaFor the second day in a row, Catalonia has had no 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 stations found that trains were not running. While the opposition attacks the government, which is being led during the president's medical leave by the Presidential Advisor, Albert Dalmau, the government defends itself: it maintains that the service has not resumed because it "has not been possible" to restart it with only six train drivers (out of 140) who failed to report for work. Meanwhile, the train drivers are protesting the state of an infrastructure that has suffered decades of underinvestment. with the specter of the accident in Adamuz (Cordoba) where 45 people died as a precedentAnd they maintain that they had already warned that, without guarantees, they would not return to the trains.

Why did the Government announce the resumption of service if it wasn't guaranteed? In a press conference, the Minister of Territory, Silvia Paneque, explained that they did so once Adif (the Spanish railway infrastructure manager) sent them a "system guarantee" certificate that endorsed it, a document that was then given to the workers. Earlier in the day, the commissioner for the transfer of commuter rail services, Pere Macias, announced an investigation into Renfe (the Spanish national railway company) for the "intolerable" situation of not guaranteeing citizens' mobility. Paneque maintained a more conciliatory tone and, in fact, avoided speaking of a covert strike or pointing the finger at the unions, with whom the Catalan government has signed an agreement for the resumption of service. However, this agreement does not set a date for the full restoration of service and conditions it on pending "extraordinary reviews."

The possibility of workers refusing to return to work was already a threat on Wednesday night, so Dalmau indicated that the situation on Thursday could be "complex." However, sources within the Catalan government maintain that they did not expect a mass walkout under any circumstances, adding that Renfe (the Spanish national railway company) also failed to anticipate it. The main train drivers' union, Semaf, offers a different perspective: "When we learned that service was being restored, we immediately informed all relevant officials at the Generalitat (Catalan government) and Renfe that we needed the report [on the inspections] that had not been prepared. They already knew that the service had not been possible," criticized Semaf's general secretary, Diego Martín, in statements to 3CatInfo. Sources from the Catalan Ministry of Territory and Sustainability deny that this position was conveyed to them and assert that their communication is with Renfe. On Thursday, Paneque reaffirmed that the government's actions "were appropriate."

The future of the transfer

The dispute between train drivers and the Catalan government highlights the Generalitat's limitations in controlling the commuter rail service, which it has owned since 2010, when the partial transfer was signed. At that time, the Generalitat assumed its management, regulation, and planning—that is, its ability to manage schedules and fares—but not the infrastructure or personnel.

The joint venture that must complete the transfer of the commuter rail service It was presented a few days ago. Owned by Renfe (50.1%) and the Catalan government (49.9%), the company will be responsible for the entire service once the transfer is complete, 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 Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), with whom the Socialist Party (PSOE) reached an agreement on the transfer of the commuter rail network. In fact, the transfer will not be "comprehensive" as initially suggested, and this Thursday, the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, made sure to reiterate this, stating 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. Freight, regional, and long-distance trains also use the tracks used by 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 in 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 governed in Madrid. and Together in the Generalitat. It is a cause that even Puente admits, although he argues that, since Pedro Sánchez came to power in the Spanish government (pressured by Catalan parties in Congress) efforts have been made to remedy it. The State invests in Catalonia only one out of every two euros budgeted for railways.

All parties represented in the Catalan Parliament have demanded explanations from the Catalan government for this latest episode of chaos in the commuter rail system. The leader of Junts, Carles Puigdemont, has been particularly forceful, asserting in a video on X that Catalonia is experiencing a "collapse due to incompetence, dependence, and a lack of leadership." Puigdemont thus attacks the very core of what has been the strategy of Illa's government since it came to power: to boast of good management and a focus 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 governance of the commuter rail system is essential," he added. However, he also issued a warning to Isla: if the Catalan government does not provide "solutions," he said, ERC will demand "resignations." The Comuns party has called for an audit of the tracks every six months, while the CUP is demanding that the Department of Territory also investigate Adif (the Spanish railway infrastructure manager). The PP and Vox parties have urged the Spanish government to assume "responsibility."

While the Catalan government is the focus of criticism for the rail chaos, the Spanish government is not spared either, with the PP pointing to it as responsible for the recent accidents. According to the PP spokesperson in Congress, Esther Muñoz, it is an "insult to intelligence" to claim that investment has increased when, at the same time, track usage has increased with the entry of new operators like Iryo. The Popular Party has already demanded that Sánchez appear urgently before Congress. —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, and accuses it of maintaining "a complicit silence with a tragedy that is not natural and that has motivations."