The Department of Territory has announced that it is finalizing a new digital platform for the Rodalies network that will allow users to consult in real time both the train passage times and incidents on the tracks. The Director General of Transport and Mobility of the Generalitat, Susi López, has assured that the application could be presented this semester and that the current information system "has a lot of room for improvement".
Improvements in Rodalies Information and Coordination
Susi López has pointed out that it is necessary to reinforce elements such as screens and public address systems in stations. According to the head of Transports, Renfe is working and is already in the final phase of improving these systems. Furthermore, López has highlighted the importance of better coordination between the two railway control centers in Catalonia, Adif's Centre de Regulació de Circulació at França station and the Centre de Gestió de Rodalies in El Clot.
"Otherwise, the information will not arrive" - Susi López, general director of Transports i Mobilitat
Political debate on the future of the network
The minister Sílvia Paneque has urged parties to work on a broad national pact that will mark the shared path for Rodalies. Paneque has acknowledged the "perverse normality" with which the Catalan railway system operated before the Gelida accident and has insisted on the "accumulated investment deficit". According to the minister, the degree of execution of investments has reached 77% this past year, although she considers it insufficient.
Paneque has defended the need to deploy Rodalies.cat, the mixed company that will mean the transfer of management to the Generalitat. The first line that would pass into the hands of the Government would be the R1 and the same model is already being studied for the R2 Sud and R3.
Training and transfer of powers
Manel Nadal, secretary of Transport and Mobility, has explained that 1,000 train drivers must be trained to guarantee generational succession, in collaboration with Renfe and using Adif's tracks. Nadal has ruled out an immediate transfer to Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya and has stressed that Renfe and Adif cannot be completely dispensed with.
Reactions in Parliament and demands from the groups
- Lluís Mijoler, deputy of the Comuns, has called for less rhetoric and more of a timeline.
- Àngels Esteller, deputy of the PPC, has asked when the situation will be resolved in the short term.
- Lluïsa Llop, deputy of ERC, has asked that the Government stand up to Renfe and Adif and has lamented the absence of the Minister of Transport in Catalonia since the beginning of the crisis.
- Judith Torojo, deputy of Junts, has asked if the minister intends to comply with what was voted on in Parliament and if they will respect the reprobation for the second time.
The debate on the future of Rodalies remains open in Parliament, while users await concrete progress in the management and information of the railway service in the metropolitan area and the rest of Catalonia.