The government places the management of the transfer of the Rodalies train service in the hands of Pere Macias. The appointment of commissioner will be officially announced this Thursday and represents the first step towards managing the change of ownership in the management of local trains in Catalonia. With the appointment of Macias, a 67-year-old engineer, the government opts for a bet with minimal Risk since he is the person who was responsible for overseeing the Rodalies 2020-2030 plan in Catalonia. In 2018, the Ministry of Public Works hired him to lead work to improve the struggling Rodalies network. Macias has repeatedly acknowledged that the repeated incidents and delays caused by Rodalies are the result of years of disinvestment, but defends that the situation has turned around and that work to improve the network is progressing quickly.
With the appointment, promoted by SER Catalunya, Esquerra places the management of Rodalies in the hands of a former director of Convergència i Unió. Macias was an advisor to the Generalitat during the government of Jordi Pujol, initially responsible for the environment and later for the territorial policy department. He came into government after being mayor of Olot and president of the Girona Provincial Council for twelve years. As a representative of the CiU, he was also a senator and representative in Congress. He increasingly distanced himself from the party and its various factions, PDeCAT and Junts, to focus on transport and mobility issues. In 2016, Ada Colau, then mayor of Barcelona, commissioned him to lead the project, which would end with the connection of the two tram sections along the diagonal.
The relocation of the Rodalies trains is one of many that Esquerra committed to in the negotiations with the PSOE over the inauguration of Pedro Sánchez. It is considered to be a sensitive issue because Rodalies is a highly sensitive matter: more than 300,000 daily users are extremely upset by the numerous incidents that the service suffers.
Macias’ appointment coincides with a moment of tension on the part of Renfe employees, who are uncomfortable with the negotiations between the ministry and the Generalitat. The train drivers reject any possible dependence on the regional administration and are calling for strikes lasting several days. The first strike is scheduled for Friday, November 24th, but this Thursday there are already several delays due to rescheduling of staff shifts.
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