Renfe backtracks and cuts alternative buses in half due to the closure of the R3 line.

BarcelonaNew controversy surrounding the R3 works between Renfe and the Generalitat. Three weeks after presenting a A historic sixteen-month cut-off due to construction work on the R3 highway and an "unprecedented" alternative plan to mitigate its effectsNow Renfe has reversed itself and decided, unilaterally, to change its plans.: Renfe Viajeros has halted the tender for the announced alternative plan and has made another, substantially larger cut.

Last week, Renfe Viajeros decided to halt the open call (before it was resolved) for the initial €68 million alternative plan—which had been announced by both the Generalitat (Catalan government) and the municipalities, as well as in the media—and to push ahead with a different one, worth €45 million. This budget cut translates into fewer buses available during the 16 months of construction work and changes in bus stop locations. This was reported on Monday by the local newspaper The New 9 and sources from Renfe and the Catalan government have confirmed this to ARA.

The initial plan, which was presented in the region and on user platforms on June 11, received much praise, including from the Generalitat (Catalan government). It envisaged mobilising more than 100 buses with 600 daily journeys and 30-minute frequencies that would be even more reinforced during rush hour. The objective was to cover the route between Montcada and La Garriga, both outbound and return—with direct buses and others with stops at all stations—and buses from Vic were even planned.

At that time, the regional minister, Sílvia Paneque, said that "the will" was "to put in place all the mechanisms to ensure that the inconvenience [due to the 16-month closure] is as minimal as possible." Now, however, the new plan only includes 58 buses and eliminates Centelles as a hub for trains and buses, moving it to La Garriga. Renfe defends itself by saying that the plan "is not finalized" and is still being designed and adjusted.

The Generalitat maintains that the plan will be the same as announced.

Regarding this reduction in tenders, the Regional Minister for Territory was emphatic in the press conference following the Executive Council meeting: "We presented an alternative transport plan on June 11, and this is the scenario we are working with. What we announced on June 11 is what is considered an alternative transport plan."

Paneque also said that a meeting is scheduled for later this week between the Generalitat (Catalan Government) and Renfe "to review these specifications and bids and determine what part of the entire alternative plan they have planned." For its part, Renfe maintains that the design is still subject to change and that once it is finalized, it will be reconvened with both the Generalitat (Catalan Government), users, and the region.