Catalan High Court orders government to pay Renfe debt of €81m

The Catalan High Court (TSJC) has ruled that the Catalan government must pay €80.9m to Spanish public rail company Renfe. 

The judgement, which the Catalan News Agency (ACN) has had access to, ruled in favor of Renfe regarding the expansion of the Rodalies commuter network taking place since 2010, which was carried out at the request of the government. 

Renfe requested the money from Catalonia's territory department, but the Catalan executive refused to pay. They argued that a large part of the cost corresponds to the use of railway managed by Spanish public rail infrastructure company Adif, and therefore it was the responsibility of Spain's transport ministry. 

Renfe had claimed the debt, which includes interest, through technical and political channels, before pursuing the issue in court. The ruling is not final, and the government has the option of presenting a cassation appeal. 

Track record 

The management of trains in Catalonia is a hot political issue. Earlier this year, Catalan presidency minister Laura Vilagrà sent a letter to the Spanish transport ministry requesting a meeting to discuss the complete transfer of control of the Rodalies network from Spain to Catalonia. 

The Catalan government says there were 831 severe problems related to Rodalies last year, while Renfe argues that 92% of its passengers use their services without any issues. 

This week, there were incidents that caused delays on Monday and Tuesday. 

Debate in parliament

During a speech in Parliament, Catalan president Pere Aragonès asked for a debate in the house to talk about Rodalies and its ongoing problems.

"It is this Parliament’s responsibility and the government's obligation to focus all resources on solving the problems that hundreds of thousands of citizens suffer every day in the Rodalies commuter train services across Catalonia," he said.

The Catalan president wants to highlight the years of lack of investment from the different Spanish governments, and the several severe incidents registered, which "negatively" affect daily commuters.