BarcelonaThe Spanish government moves. The Secretary of State for Transport, José Antonio Santano, announced this Monday an agreement with the Generalitat to expand the Neighborhood Plan and assured that “it must reach 8,000 million”. The current investment established until 2030 is around 6,300 million euros, of which around 2,500 million have already been executed, so it would be an extra investment of 1,700 million for Rodalies. In an interview with ACN, Santano explained that “soon” more details will be given in a public appearance.
Santano said that the Spanish government “has done and is doing its homework” and they will prove it with “data”. However, he recalled that the Rodalies network is old, it has suffered “many years of disinvestment” and that in “railway matters, solutions do not come overnight”. “We need time so that an investment of this caliber and those we have pending can offer the system that Catalonia needs,” he stressed.
After the announcement of the dismissals of the operating director of Rodalies, Josep Enric García Alemany, and the general director of operation and maintenance of Adif, Santano has acknowledged that both companies “have not been up to the task” in the face of the railway crisis. However, he has affirmed that these internal movements are “enough” and has ruled out further dismissals due to the railway crisis.
Santano considered that Renfe and Adif “have not lived up to the situation, what Catalan society deserves and needs in a situation of meteorological emergency and very heavy rains”. “We don’t want to look for culprits, but it was undeniable that, if we want to move forward, there would be a turning point and they would take responsibility,” he added. For this reason, he has asked them to do so, effective this very Monday. All this comes after a week of incidents and service suspensions and the fatal accident in Gelida last Tuesday, where a train driver lost his life.
Likewise, he has defended that with these two terminations “it is enough”, as they demonstrate to Catalan society that they are assuming responsibilities. “At this point I rule out more dismissals, I think it is enough and that what we have to do is continue with the work we did at the weekend,” he said. In this sense, he recalled that there are 330 workers working on the ground to reinforce the tracks and the railway environment before a new week in which rain is also expected.
Bridge and relations with the Generalitat
According to him, the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, “has no reason to resign” and has defended that he has not visited Catalonia because he is “focused” on the Adamuz accident, which left 45 fatalities. “We have to stop making noise and apply ourselves to solve things,” he said.
As for relations with the Generalitat, he does not believe that this crisis has affected them. In fact, he sees an “opportunity to improve” and believes that the collaboration with the Government is “reinforced”. Asked about a possible calendar advance in the transfer of Rodalies, he pointed out that they will have to discuss it with the Generalitat, but made it clear that they do not have the feeling that it will be “slow”. “The transfer is underway”, he remarked. In addition, he stated that “there will be news” that will show that the constitution of the Rodalies de Catalunya joint venture “is much more than the constitution of a company” and will be filled with content.
