Legislative Move to Remove Renfe from Rodalies
The promoter committee of the popular legislative initiative (ILP) 'Fora Renfe', led by the political party Alhora, will formally register a bill for processing at the Parliament of Catalonia this Wednesday 4th November at 10 a.m. The move seeks to legally ensure that Rodalies commuter rail services are operated exclusively by a publicly owned Catalan entity, ending Renfe's role. The initiative stems from the railway crisis in January and a public consultation in which 88% of participants supported transferring full control of Rodalies to the Catalan government. The proposed legislation would amend Law 4/2006 on railways so that only a public operator fully owned by the Generalitat can be awarded contracts for Rodalies and regional rail services. Under the proposal, the Generalitat must also hold at least four-fifths of the board seats in the operating entity and strengthen user rights, including linguistic guarantees and protections against service violations.
Challenging Current Contract with Renfe
The bill responds to the recent formalisation of a programme contract between the Government of Salvador Illa and Renfe, worth €1,407.6 million and set to run until 31 December 2028. According to Alhora, the agreement was made without a public tender and tailored to bypass competitive bidding rules. Alhora argues that the current joint company, Rodalies de Catalunya, established in January under a pact between ERC and the PSOE, with Renfe holding 50.1% and the Generalitat 49.9%, functions as a 'front company' designed to simulate Catalan control while preserving Spanish state veto power. Party president Jordi Graupera has described the arrangement as a 'false transfer' intended to avoid a genuine handover.
We will make them do it with this ILP
Graupera stressed that critical decisions require a two-thirds majority, which effectively gives the Spanish government veto power despite the Generalitat holding a near-majority on the board. He also called the current contract 'illegal' and demanded the Government publish its justification to the European Commission for bypassing a public tender.
Next Steps in Parliamentary Process
After Wednesday’s registration, the Parliament’s Bureau has 15 working days to verify formal requirements and admit the bill to processing. If accepted, the promoter committee will have 120 days, extendable by 60, to collect at least 50,000 validated signatures through a volunteer network. Once verified, the bill must be debated in a plenary session of the Catalan Parliament. The 'Fora Renfe' campaign has already gathered over 37,000 adhesions to its manifesto and mobilised more than 150,000 emails to the infrastructure commission. Graupera stated: 'Rodalies is a catastrophe for the lives of Catalans. If the Government does not kick Renfe out, we will make them do it with this ILP.'
Sources: El Món, Generalitat de Catalunya, elplural.com.
