The Núria valley is one of the most iconic mountain destinations in Catalonia. A tourist complex around a basilica from the early 20th century, flanked by the Puigmal and the Capçaleres del Ter i del Freser Natural Park, at an altitude of 2,000 meters, which can only be reached by walking or by the rack railway. The station, managed by Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC), is a pioneer in sustainability thanks to the Ecovall project. During the first half of 2026, the station generated more than 908,000 kWh of geothermal energy thanks to the implementation of 126 wells 100 meters deep that heat the water for all the facilities. This new system has saved more than 100,000 liters of diesel and prevented the emission of 309 tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere. Furthermore, the Núria station is the first FGC station in Catalonia open 365 days a year: it does not rely solely on the snow season, which is increasingly unpredictable due to climate change, but has reinvented itself by organizing all kinds of nature and hiking activities to attract the public throughout the year.

«How are you? I'm Natàlia Vila, a journalist in charge of the infrastructure and mobility section at ARA. My job mainly consists of explaining and monitoring the management and operation of the commuter rail system in Catalonia." This is how she addressed the Telegram group of ARA Award subscribers“Trains take up about 75% of my time under normal circumstances… but in the last three weeks, the situation has consumed all my hours, as well as those of many colleagues who have joined this team as reinforcements to be able to report everything as accurately as possible,” she added. It was the day of the Renfe and Adif staff strike, which further aggravated the crisis. Natàlia Vila highlighted the main factors: “Many decades of political decisions that have prioritized high-speed rail over commuter rail, a lack of maintenance—experts and train drivers say the methods used are questionable—and, of course, a failure to implement the budgeted investments.” She added that it is an additional difficulty “to make decisions 600 kilometers away.”

"Excuse me, what's the next one towards Manresa?" I ask them. There are four men and a woman, all in work clothes, wearing the brown uniform of the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat (Catalan Railways). They tell me there's one in ten minutes on platform 4, and, of course, we discuss the Renfe "incidents." I take a good look at them. While they tell me things—which I ask them to, driven by my excessive and fortunate curiosity—about this station, Plaça d'Espanya, my eyes flicker. I look at them again. They're like those sexy, shirtless, AI-generated photos your friends send you at Christmas. The five of them, the men and the woman, suddenly seem to be moving in slow motion. When they have to move around to show a couple of tourists how many zones there are to Montserrat, they remind me of runway models. In my head, as they move, I hear... Hot love, by T. Rex.