The poor functioning of the commuter rail network has been a reality for decades. The Network of Rail User Platforms of Catalonia and the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) have called on Catalans to take to the streets this Saturday to protest the state of the network and the neglect of its users in two separate demonstrations. Discontent with the commuter rail system is long-standing, as evidenced by Catalonia's first mass demonstration against the chaos of the rail system in 2007, sparked by the construction of the high-speed rail line (AVE) in Barcelona. According to the Barcelona City Police (Guardia Urbana), 200,000 people participated, while organizers estimated 700,000—figures that would foreshadow the large-scale mobilizations of the Catalan independence movement. The cry in the streets of Barcelona on December 1, 2007, was clear: "We are a nation, and we have had enough." Enough is enough with the infrastructure and rail service deficiencies, but also with the pressing need for self-government, which was already evident in the abridged Statute of Autonomy.