When Pere Aragonès said that he would create a commissioner for the transfer of Rodalies, all the pools in the sector pointed to Pere Macias. And effectively it has been like that. The one who was Minister of Territorial Policy with CiU more than twenty years ago, has worked since 2018 for the PSOE Government as coordinator of the Rodalies 2020-2030 plan. He first planned the actions and then coordinated the numerous railway works that the Ministry of Transport is carrying out in Catalonia to turn around the situation derived from the lack of investments in previous years.
From now on, Macias will continue to deal with the same subject but his task will be very different. According to SER Catalunya, the former councilor has been chosen by the Government to translate the investiture agreement of Pedro Sánchez between PSOE and ERC into reality. He will be in charge of coordinating the “comprehensive” and progressive transfer of the Rodalies service, both at the level of trains and part of the infrastructure and all personnel, with the creation of a joint State-Generalitat company that will assume the role that Renfe currently plays.
In the face of your mission you will encounter numerous resistances. For now, Renfe workers throughout Spain will go on strike for five days, the first of which will be this Friday, affecting both the Rodalies and high-speed services and the services in the rest of Spain.
Macias is a respected figure in the sector for his technical knowledge. A civil engineer by training, he now worked for the PSOE just as he did a few years ago for the municipal government of Ada Colau in Barcelona with the project to connect the tram along Diagonal. He has good connections both in Catalonia and in Madrid as a result of his parliamentary activity and his technical profile work in charge of the different responsibilities accumulated throughout his extensive professional career.
The role of commissioner will make him a bridge between both administrations, although only the Catalan executive has intervened in his appointment. In fact, the signing has been carried out directly by president Pere Aragonès, without going through the Territori department, whose positions will be the ones he will have to deal with on a daily basis in his new role.
With the transfer, it will be the Generalitat that will also have the ability to influence the investments that must be carried out in the coming years. The change of sides guarantees some continuity to the priorities that are being carried out and that are included in the Rodalies 2020-2030 plan. A change of mind could slow down projects now that, for the first time, an investment plan is being fulfilled and moving forward at cruising speed.
Of course, in addition to the commissioner chosen by the Catalan side, numerous commissions and working groups are expected at a technical level that will define the formula for transferring powers as delicate as those of some sections of track that can be disaggregated from the railway network of general interest (RFIG).
