Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) has proposed a legal reform requiring that at least 30% of annual railway infrastructure spending be dedicated to maintenance and safety. The announcement was made on Friday 13 November 2026 by party leader Oriol Junqueras at Barcelona’s Sants station, marking a key campaign pledge ahead of the upcoming general election. Junqueras stated that current spending on maintenance is "less than 15%" of the budget, a level he described as "clearly insufficient". He argued that increasing the allocation to 30% would bring Spain in line with peer countries such as France, Italy, and Germany, where maintenance receives between 34% and 39% of infrastructure budgets.

Push for Regional Control and Fair Funding

The proposal includes reforming the national railway sector law to legally enshrine the 30% maintenance floor. ERC also advocates expanding management delegations (encomiendas de gestión) to allow the Generalitat de Catalunya to directly oversee maintenance work, promoting local accountability. Junqueras pointed out that Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona and Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) already allocate nearly a third of their budgets to upkeep, underscoring the feasibility of the measure. He criticised the Ministry of Transport for prioritising road infrastructure, noting that between 44% and 64% of road budgets go to maintenance, while rail receives far less.

Currently, less than 15% of the budget goes to maintenance, that is clearly insufficient.

The announcement follows the latest meeting of the State-Generalitat Bilateral Commission on Thursday 12 November 2026, which addressed the ongoing transfer of Rodalies (Catalonia’s regional commuter rail network) to regional control. While Junqueras acknowledged "some progress", he lamented the slow pace, particularly in scheduling upgrades to the R1 line. ERC frames the proposal as a necessary step toward full devolution of Rodalies, a commitment agreed with the PSOE but still pending implementation. Junqueras dismissed the prospect of progress under a potential PP-Vox government, saying: "I expect nothing, because they have never contributed anything."

Calls for Change Amid Safety Concerns

The call for reform comes after a year marked by high-speed rail incidents and a commuter train accident in Gelida (Barcelona) during the previous winter. Junqueras criticised successive Spanish governments, both socialist and conservative, for focusing on high-profile inaugurations rather than long-term safety and upkeep, calling such projects "faraonic" and economically unjustifiable.

Sources: El País, La Vanguardia.