The Government opens an investigation into Renfe: "We cannot play with the mobility of citizens"

Another morning of rail chaos in Catalonia. After commuter rail service was completely suspended yesterday, train service has not yet resumed this morning. As a result, the Catalan Ministry of Territory has opened an investigation into Renfe for today's service disruption. "Safety is non-negotiable, but we also can't gamble with citizens' mobility in this way," said Pere Macias, the commissioner for the transfer of commuter rail services. Thus, Catalonia has woken up to another day without commuter rail, after the Catalan government announced yesterday that there would be a phased restoration of service. Early this morning, Renfe reported that the reason was "operational issues" and recommended that passengers "plan their journeys using alternative means of transport." Specifically, the trains are not running due to a shortage of drivers. "It's not a disguised strike; it's that the agreed-upon safety guarantees for starting service are not being met," said Diego Martín, spokesperson for the largest train drivers' union, Semaf. In an interview on RAC1, Martín explained that Renfe has not complied with the agreements reportedly reached yesterday to begin service. "A procedure was established to open safely, involving checking the state of the infrastructure beforehand and obtaining a report on the condition of each line, and this procedure has not been followed," he insisted. The train drivers' spokesperson remained firm that "quality guarantees" are necessary to restore service, asked passengers for patience, and reminded them that safety is an issue that affects everyone—Renfe workers and passengers alike. "They're demanding things that can't be achieved in an hour."

For his part, Transport Minister Óscar Puente said in an interview on Catalunya Ràdio that train drivers are demanding more safety measures and a morning inspection of the network before starting service. Puente said these are long-term demands: "They're demanding things that can't be achieved in an hour," said the minister, who also denied that service was suspended yesterday due to a lack of drivers. "Yesterday we did what they asked for, yes, and also what seemed sensible to us after a storm and the two accidents we've had: that is, to check all the tracks before starting service," Puente admitted. The minister asserted that doing so was a good decision because another retaining wall collapsed in Pineda yesterday while service was suspended. Also speaking to Catalunya Ràdio, Renfe spokesperson Antonio Carmona stated that they are "seeking consensus" with train drivers to restore commuter rail service, after many of them failed to report for work. He also explained that a meeting is planned with workers' representatives, who deny that there is sufficient safety on the network, and that the goal is to hold it "as soon as possible." "There is ongoing dialogue," he said, adding that, in the meantime, Renfe is "doing everything possible" to inform customers about alternative transportation options.