A recent meeting convened by the Tarragona Provincial Council has underscored that resolving the railway mobility challenges in Southern Catalonia necessarily requires building a shared voice and defending common objectives. For decades, the Camp de Tarragona has suffered the consequences of territorial discrepancies when advocating for railway infrastructure, with each region or city defending particular interests without a joint strategy that would generate sufficient strength with the competent authorities.
The gathering held in Tarragona has served to highlight that now is the time to overcome this dynamic. The consensus reached among entities, users, and institutional representatives demonstrates the possibility of moving towards a shared mobility agenda for all of Southern Catalonia. This spirit of cooperation has already been seen in recent demands, such as those for the R13 line, where municipalities and citizens managed to articulate a joint demand for a dignified railway service, a spirit that is now to be extended to a broader scale.
The needs of Tarragona are not incompatible with those of the Terres de l'Ebre, nor those of Valls with Baix Penedès. Demands for freight transport can coexist with improvements in passenger services. The region's strength lies precisely in its ability to identify shared objectives and defend them jointly. The debate on freight transport must be approached with technical rigor, avoiding simplistic viewpoints that identify it as the network's main problem. Many current difficulties, affecting both passenger and freight trains, have a common origin: the infrastructure's lack of capacity, insufficient sidings and parking, and the saturation of stations.
Both passenger and freight services require more spaces for train parking, incident management, and absorbing traffic increases. The expansion and modernization of stations and railway facilities should be strategic priorities. Rail transport is one of the safest and most sustainable systems for moving goods, and a responsible mobility policy should favor shifting traffic from road to rail, reducing congestion, emissions, and risks.
For this reason, it is considered necessary to establish a Southern Catalonia Mobility Council, with institutional, technical, economic, and social participation. This stable forum would allow for defining shared priorities and presenting a unified voice to the responsible authorities. In parallel, the region cannot limit itself to discussing long-term scenarios; immediate actions are needed.
Among these urgent measures, the need to move towards real tariff integration for the entire railway system of Southern Catalonia stands out. Situations like that of Valls, which still lacks full tariff integration, highlight imbalances that need urgent correction. It is also essential to know specific proposals regarding schedules, frequencies, and services. There is agreement on the need to study a dedicated commuter rail service for Southern Catalonia, designed by the region and adapted to the real needs of citizens and economic activity, a project that will only succeed if approached through cooperation.
