Mayors and civil society representatives from Bages held a joint event to request the temporary removal of tolls on the C-16. This request arises from the interruption of train service between Manresa and Terrassa, which is being covered by a provisional bus service with insufficient frequencies. The demand is based on comparison with the Garraf region, where the Generalitat Government determined the total gratuity of the C-32 highway following a fatal accident in Gelida.
“"We want to be treated as we deserve, because we are Catalans just like the rest of the municipalities and regions."
Joan Carles Batanès, Mayor of Sant Fruitós de Bages and promoter of the manifesto, emphasized the “comparative grievance that the region often suffers compared to other parts of the Catalan territory”. He regretted that, despite the lack of rail service in Manresa, the measure to provisionally lift the toll at Sant Vicenç de Castellet has not been adopted. Furthermore, he strongly criticized the response from the Secretary of Mobility and Infrastructure, Manel Nadal, calling it “absolutely unacceptable”.
Jordi Solernou, Mayor of Sant Joan de Vilatorrada, insisted on the need to lift the barriers due to the “rail collapse” that has saturated the C-55 and the C-16. For his part, Ramon Bacardit, deputy at the Diputació de Barcelona, denounced that four of the five existing tolls in Catalonia are located in the central region and demanded a rectification from the Department of Territory. Both stressed that the connection is vital not only with Barcelona but also with the Vallès area.
In a subsequent statement, Eloi Hernàndez, President of the Consell Comarcal del Bages and Mayor of Fonollosa, went beyond the provisional measure. He demanded “urgent improvements in railway matters” and the total liberation of the C-16 highway, emphasizing that the Comarcal Council's demands seek a definitive solution.
