To lead a "broad" and "calm" debate that allows for overcoming the educational crisis. This is the task that the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, officially entrusted this Monday to the president of the Education Council of Catalonia (CEC), Joan Manuel Del Pozo. Del Pozo will be the one to lead the country-wide debate to redefine the Catalan educational model. A dialogue that aims to "rebuild consensus" and "reconstruct" bridges with the education sector, as explained by the regional minister, Esther Niubó.

September is back and, with it, the return to work, to university, and also commuting and traffic. And users of interurban buses – especially those entering and leaving through Barcelona's Diagonal – are already noticing it. In July, Barcelona City Council and the Department of Territory carried out a first attempt to organize the 1,800 buses that stop daily on this avenue by splitting the stops, which went from 13 to 23. But this easing has fallen short with the arrival of autumn.

The effect of the torrential rains this Wednesday night has once again highlighted the weaknesses of the railway network. A circulation stoppage has affected the R2, R2 North, and R11 lines almost all day between Barcelona (Sant Andreu) and Granollers Centre. The reason? The rain caused two new holes to appear in the ground of the tracks, very close to the point where last July a large sinkhole swallowed a crane from the Rodalies construction works, at the height of Vallbona. Circulation resumed this afternoon shortly before 5:30 PM, and trains will progressively recover their usual schedules, as reported by Renfe. For now, the alternative bus service is being maintained.

The Minister of Interior, Núria Parlon, defended this Thursday that the mobile alerts for the intense rains on Wednesday night were sent in light of predictions of "sudden" floods. "They do not arrive late, but rather when the population must protect itself," she argued. The minister said this in a joint appearance with the deputy director of Civil Protection of the Generalitat, Sergi Delgado, in which they reported on the management of some downpours that caused the death of a 48-year-old driver in Olivella, in the Garraf region, when he was trying to cross the Begues stream with his car, in addition to cuts on roads and trains, flight cancellations, and various floods.

Improving communication and information for travelers and making it "excellent" is one of the priorities that the Government has been demanding from Renfe and Adif for years. When a train is late, users often express that getting information and alternatives – or often simply knowing what is happening – is practically an impossible mission. Marina Castellano knows this well. She is from Badalona, has just turned 24, and is a user of Rodalies. She is also a student of mathematical engineering in data science at Pompeu Fabra University. For this reason, when she had to approach her final degree project (TFG), the idea of improving information for Rodalies immediately came to mind "to make life a little easier for users".

Another morning of railway chaos on the R2 South line. And, once again, the disruptions have to do with a copper theft in the area of the Estació de França in Barcelona: it is the sixth time in just ten days that the same event has occurred, and Adif confirms that it has again sent its technicians to the area to replace all the stolen material.

More goods on trains and fewer trucks on the roads. With this premise, the Government has made public a plan to grow freight transport by train in Catalonia, with a network of four new railway terminals in five years, which will help reduce the dependence – and congestion – of the road network for the transport of products.

The unions were clear that this Tuesday's strike call was a “difficult” one. Difficult because they did not want to lower the tone or the demands, but, at the same time, the first day of school "is a very important day," the sector's union leaders admitted to ARA just a few days ago. Thus, the turnout for this new day of protests –the sixth this year– has been much lower than in previous calls. Education assures that 12.6% of teachers have joined the strike, while the unions raise this figure to 30%.

Catalonia now has double the forests it had in the 1950s – the forest area has gone from 35% of the territory to almost 65% – and the fires of recent weeks — the last one this Friday in Collserola — and a legislative plot twist have strongly reopened a debate that already existed in the sector: on whom should the responsibility fall – and in whose name should the bill go – for maintenance? Currently, only 30% of forests are managed, meaning that active work is being done on them, such as logging, undergrowth clearing, or new plantings. In this context, a small change in a discreet article has revolutionized the sector. As the ARA explained a few months ago, Royal Decree-Law 21/2025, which obliged owners to maintain the land in condition and empowered the administration to do so at a cost – meaning, passing the bill to the owner – mutated during the parliamentary process and went from "obliging" to simply requesting "collaboration." A direct request from the forestry sector.

Quick and not excessively expensive actions at stations so that users begin to notice that something is improving. This is one of the lines of work that the Government has opted for to try to regain citizen confidence in Rodalies after its annus horribilis. The Government, the ministry, Renfe, and Adif have now announced the deployment of a plan for millionaire works, spread across various stations, which aims to transform these transit points into "decent" infrastructures while the major works, which will take years to complete and show results, are not yet underway.

In July 2023, in Portbou, two fins made an appearance on the beach, very close to the sand, and swimmers didn't think twice. Some swam quickly towards the shore. Shouts and nerves. Others, about fifteen, opted to temporarily take refuge on a large platform floating in Portbou bay. The scare was significant: they were two blue sharks, popularly known as "tintoreras," calmly swimming near the beach. Some bathers even managed to record the two specimens from the sand. And once again, the videos went viral on social media.

Beyond the traffic problems inherent in the railway network, last year it became clear that moving on foot, with reduced mobility, a stroller, or a wheelchair through Rodalies stations was often an insurmountable obstacle course. In March 2025, more than half of the elevators (52%) and almost half of the escalators at Rodalies stations were not working. "The situation was absolutely unsustainable, undesirable, and inadmissible," assures the Minister of Territory, Sílvia Paneque. According to the Government, Renfe, and Adif, this situation of "neglect" has now been reversed.

The day after the collapse of the R2 works between Barcelona and Montcada, which caused a great scare and swallowed a large crane, the Secretary of State for Transport, José Antonio Santano, admitted that it would take "days" to fill the gap with concrete, but that, "if all goes well," train traffic could be restored next week. However, the secretary has asked for caution and acknowledged that a more concrete date for the resumption of service could be given from Saturday.

A blockage in the connection well of the works to bury the R2 line, on the border between Barcelona and Montcada i Reixac, swallowed a large crane and more heavy machinery this Wednesday at noon, but it did not cause injuries. Adif sources explained to ARA that no personal injuries were registered as a result of the incident, but the sinkhole has forced to to preventively interrupt the railway traffic between Montcada i Reixac and Sant Andreu without a specific restoration date, with affectations on R2, R2 Nord and R11.

The Rodalies crisis has triggered demand for buses as a mobility alternative, and this, in turn, is saturating some points in Barcelona. Fabra i Puig, Gran Via and also the Maria Cristina area, on Diagonal, have been suffering for months from the effects of an avalanche of alternative plans that, added to the interurban bus lines, are overwhelming mobility. Solving the underlying problem requires rethinking the model, building new stations and interchanges; that is, years of constructing new infrastructure. Therefore, while that doesn't happen, Barcelona City Council and the Generalitat have decided to take a first step to try to "ease up," at least, the Diagonal corridor.

Between January and June of this year, Barcelona has been the scene of 74,350 crimes and 17,359 arrests. This is 11.2% fewer crimes and a 6.7% reduction in arrests compared to the same dates last year. Therefore, crimes are generally decreasing and are sinking to the level of a decade ago, but nevertheless, the data from the latest barometer place crime as the second concern for Barcelona residents, only behind housing. This is the main conclusion of the latest Barcelona Security Board, which this morning made public the data on conflict in the Catalan capital.

When at the beginning of the year the big Rodalies crisis broke out –after the fatal accident in Gelida and the numerous damages caused by two storms– many users looked for an alternative to avoid the incidents of the conventional service. Those who could, switched to Avant trains: they are more expensive, but also faster, as they run between cities on the high-speed network with regulated fares, and accumulate many fewer delays. For many travelers, arriving on time for work, a medical appointment, or university has already become a priority that weighs more than the cost of the ticket.

Births in Catalonia rose slightly last year after 17 years of decline. In 2025, 28,019 boys and 26,230 girls were born, a total of 54,249 infants, representing an increase of 0.8% compared to 2024, according to provisional data released this morning by the Institute of Statistics of Catalonia, Idescat. This breaks a downward trend of almost two decades, although the increase is so slight that the crude birth rate remains at 6.7 births per 1,000 inhabitants, the same as in 2024.

More than half of Catalonia is forest. These are forest areas that over the last century have grown where there were once fields, crops, and agricultural activity that, over time, has been abandoned. And nature has reclaimed the land. These are young and dense forests that have occupied the space left by rural exodus and agricultural abandonment, which over the last century have pushed the population of villages towards cities.

It is destined to be the metro work with the longest tunnel in Europe. But the L9 works have already earned the title of "historic" and "controversial" for years, both for the delays the project has accumulated since the first plans and for the 6,000 million euros of cost overrun, according to the Court of Auditors. And since this Tuesday also for the 8-meter sinkhole that has forced the evacuation of six buildings in the Putxet neighborhood of Barcelona. But, at what point is this work? Where is the tunnel boring machine going? How does this large machine work and how is the tunnel built? We explain it to you in six key points: