Cuts in service and buses not running on the streets: this is Renfe's plan for the closure of the R3 highway.

BarcelonaThe controversy surrounding the R3 continues unabated. And it's not because of the 16 months of road closures for the widening works, but because of the alternative road plan that is to replace the train service during that time. On June 11, it was announced that it would be An "unprecedented" investment of 68 million euros to set up a system of more than 100 buses that would operate every day of the week with the main exchange headquarters in Centelles. This plan received praise from both the municipalities and the Generalitat (Generalitat), and even from user platforms, but the joy was short-lived.

The last week of June, Renfe unilaterally decided to stop this bidding and call for another that substantially cut the plan.. Plan B was limited to 45 million euros and 58 buses, and the epicenter of the transfers was changed from Centelles to La Garriga. This change took the municipalities, the government, and user associations by surprise, and they still don't understand the change.

When the news broke a week later, the regional minister for land, Silvia Paneque, didn't hide her surprise and maintained that the plan that would go ahead was Plan A, "what had been initially announced." She also stated that the Generalitat would meet with Renfe to demand explanations.

An "unviable" plan B

But the most forceful voice so far has been that of the mayor of La Garriga, Meritxell Budó—a former spokesperson for the Catalan government—who asserts that the change in plans is an absurdity "unfeasible to implement." According to Budó, Renfe contacted the municipality to conduct field tests in the last week of June, and the mayor herself warned them in a video call meeting that changing Centelles to La Garriga was not a good idea because the buses "did not pass through some of the town's streets."

"I told them it was impossible for mobility reasons, because we have many roads with slopes, school routes, narrow streets where very high vehicles can't pass... And they told me they wanted to do a test anyway. And they came on a bus," Budó tells ARA. "Enric Garcia Alemany and I, and while we were doing the test ride, were able to see that on some streets the bus occupied both directions of travel. We also came across a truck and had to reverse the bus. The mayor assures that at that moment the head of Renfe "verbalized" that it was "impossible" and that, therefore, plan B "was ruled out."

But the tests were not of much use: "Suddenly, two days later we see that the bidding that comes out is this second option, the reduced version and with La Garriga as the interchange and connection center of the alternative plan," Budó is surprised. The mayor assures that the legal services of her The city council is already studying the case to file an appeal. He also sent a letter to the regional ministry as soon as he learned of the change in the bid. "I still haven't received a response," he explains.

A meeting without conclusions

For its part, the Generalitat (Catalan government) held another meeting with Renfe on Thursday afternoon to discuss the issue. Sources close to the meeting assured ARA that the meeting also failed to resolve anything. Both parties agreed that it was necessary to "continue working to improve the service" and also maintain contact with the municipalities and platforms, according to government sources.

During the first phase of the widening works on the R3 line in 2022, field tests were also conducted to determine the best way to design bus routes. Renfe, therefore, follows standard practice before announcing any plan, as it did this time in La Garriga. In 2022, the cost of these same tests soared to €16,000, according to the public procurement portal.