Socialists and ERC agree 'comprehensive' transfer of Rodalies commuter rail control to Catalonia 

Spain's Socialists and pro-independence Esquerra Republicana (ERC) have reached an agreement that would see control of the Rodalies commuter rail network transferred from Spain to Catalonia, according to the Catalan News Agency (ACN). 

Handing over management of Rodalies has been a long-standing demand for pro-independence parties, and Esquerra included it as one of their requirements in the post-electoral negotiations to re-elect Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez as prime minister.  

The pact refers to the "comprehensive transfer" of the rail network, including tracks, trains and resources, according to Esquerra. 

The Rodalies agreement together with the Socialists' commitment to an amnesty for figures involved in Catalonia's independence push has resulted in Esquerra's leadership endorsing Sánchez's prime ministerial bid. 

The party executive gave their backing at a meeting on Thursday and the agreement now has to be ratified by party members in an internal consultation, due to take place online on Friday. 

Full transfer

The document that ERC and the Socialists have all but completed is entitled 'Completing the comprehensive transfer of Rodalies', according to negotiation sources consulted by ACN. 

The pact lays out that the transfer of control, which includes trains, tracks and the necessary financing, will be implemented in several phases. 

Post-election talks 

Negotiations to re-elect Sánchez as Spanish prime minister have stepped up in recent days. The Socialists need the votes of several other parties in the Spanish Congress to garner a majority, including Catalan pro-independence parties ERC and Junts. 

On Monday, former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont met senior figures from the Socialists in Brussels. Puigdemont left Spain after the 2017 referendum and has not returned since, serving as an MEP for Junts.  

Sources say the meeting went well, and they discussed not only backing Sánchez's bid to become PM but also a possible agreement for the four-year term. 

The following day, the Socialists and ERC released statements saying Sánchez and Catalan president Pere Aragonès had reached an agreement over an amnesty law for those involved in the 2017 self-determination referendum, which was deemed illegal by Spain at the time. 

After Sánchez and Aragonès spoke on the phone on Tuesday afternoon, both parties said that they had agreed upon the "last details" of the amnesty law.  

They "consider their expectations met and are satisfied with their principles on the law," the statement read.  

The amnesty law will now have to be submitted to Congress, probably ahead of a prime ministerial vote for the Socialists' candidate. 

It would be signed jointly by the Socialists, left-wing coalition Sumar, Esquerra and Junts, the Basque National Party and Bildu, and the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG). 

Rail woes

The Rodalies network, run by Spanish public rail company Renfe, has been plagued with delays for years. 

In 2022, at least one serious incident occurred in at least one point of the rail network four out of every five days, according to a report from Catalan news outlet El Periodico. 

There have been disagreements this year between Catalan and Spanish ministers over who runs Rodalies but, essentially, Catalonia is in charge of timetables, frequency of services, fares, and giving information to users, while Spanish government-owned companies Renfe and Adif are in charge of passenger transport and managing and maintaining the infrastructure.