The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Òscar Puente, and the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, formalized the agreement to constitute Rodalies de Catalunya SME in Barcelona. Both leaders stressed that the service will improve thanks to “collaboration between administrations” and the modernization of the network, a step Puente described as the “right direction.”
“"We said we would deliver to generate more benefits for the citizens than confrontation does."
This agreement, resulting from the investiture pacts between the PSOE and ERC in November 2023, and subsequently between ERC and the PSC in July 2024, will not involve job losses. The new public limited company is expected to begin operating the Renfe service in 2027.
The company will have a Catalan majority on the board of directors, with Minister Sílvia Paneque as president and the former director of the Barcelona Metro, Òscar Playà, as CEO. Although the Generalitat will control day-to-day decisions, strategic decisions will require the approval of three-quarters of the members, necessitating agreement with the state public company.
Regarding investments, Puente assured that planned allocations will be executed, noting that 2 billion euros have already been spent and over 3 billion euros have been awarded for network transformation, including key works like the doubling of the R3 line.
