The Government wants to request the transfer of Avant trains to create a Catalan high-speed rail network

BarcelonaWhen at the beginning of the year the big Rodalies crisis broke out –after the fatal accident in Gelida and the numerous damages caused by two storms– many users looked for an alternative to avoid the incidents of the conventional service. Those who could, switched to Avant trains: they are more expensive, but also faster, as they run between cities on the high-speed network with regulated fares, and accumulate many fewer delays. For many travelers, arriving on time for work, a medical appointment, or university has already become a priority that weighs more than the cost of the ticket.

The demand for Avant trains, which are also operated by Renfe, had already been growing steadily for two years, but this year's railway crisis has overwhelmed all expectations. Getting a ticket on the early morning or late afternoon trains has been almost impossible for months. "Either you buy three or four weeks in advance or you don't find any more," Kevin Bruque, a user from Lleida and spokesperson for the platform Usuaris Avant Catalunya, explained this winter to ARA. The situation is also repeated on the Tarragona and Girona corridors.

This is why the Government is now formally considering requesting the transfer of the Avant trains and creating an internal Catalan high-speed network. The idea is not new and does not originate from the Generalitat either: the CCOO union first presented it five years ago and, last November, it put it back on the table as a "real alternative", last November, it put it back on the table as a "real alternative". This time, both Renfe and the Generalitat accepted the proposal and, in various meetings with its promoters, considered the possibility of moving forward with it.

High-speed for the working class

This strategic proposal aims to repurpose five trains that operated the Avlo service, the low-cost brand of AVE, between Barcelona and Madrid – a service that was discontinued last year – and transfer them to the Avant network. The reason? "These are series 106 trains, which are practically double the length of those currently on the Avant network, and therefore also have practically double the capacity," summarizes Alberto Puivecino, secretary of Mobility and Infrastructures for CCOO, the architect of the proposal that has now entered the Generalitat's plans.

Specifically, Puivecino details that the proposed trains have 581 seats, while the current ones only have 238. The report also proposes more stops and frequencies with the creation of two lines: one from Figueres-Vilafant to Lleida (passing through Girona, Barcelona, and Tarragona) and another from Figueres-Vilafant to Tortosa (which would run the entire territory from north to south).

"Using very few more resources we would achieve offering many more places", insists Puivecino. In fact, the report estimates that we would go from the current 10,324 places to having between 30,000 and 40,000, depending on the train model used. "High-speed rail must be brought closer to the working class, because we have all paid for high-speed rail and now it is only channeled to the commercial services of the operators. We demand that it be returned to the working class, as a public service", defends Puivecino.

Madrid has the final say

The idea has captivated the technicians of Territori and has been incorporated (although with another name) into the technical documents and projects of the Generalitat. "It seems like a very interesting idea to us," admitted the Secretary of Mobility and Infrastructures, Manel Nadal, at the end of June, during the presentation of the railway services plan for Catalonia.

There is only one problem, which is that the competence for Avant services is state-level. After several meetings with the architects of the proposal and also with Renfe, the Government has decided to incorporate the proposal as its own into the National Industry Plan and the railway services plan, to unblock this point. Precisely, this latter document specifies that the Generalitat wants to request the transfer of Avant services that have their origin and end within Catalonia – to circumvent the competence problem – with the intention of creating the two new lines. The project, like the services plan, also has a date: 2040. It remains to be seen if Madrid will agree to the request.