Esquerra Republicana has proposed dusting off the orbital train railway project, which would connect Vilanova i la Geltrú with Mataró without passing through Barcelona. The plan, designed during the Tripartite era, would be carried out in five phases, culminate in 2040, and involve a state investment of approximately 5.2 billion euros (4.8 billion for infrastructure and 400 million for trains). Oriol Junqueras, president of ERC, and parliamentary spokesperson, Ester Capella, explained the project to the party’s municipal officials this Thursday. The republicans demand, among other things, the green light for this bypass train as a condition for approving the Budgets.
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With its railway project, ERC wants to bet on a paradigm shift in mobility that favors decarbonization. The new train is designed to serve what they call the five-million-inhabitant city-region and not just the strict metropolitan area of 3.4 million. The orbital line, which has its embryo in the R-8, would have a length of 120 kilometers, of which 52 are already built and 69 more should be traced. “It has been 50 years since the State built any new kilometer of track,” say ERC sources, who recall that the project was already rescued with the Government of Pere Aragonès. The works would be carried out in phases: Santa Perpètua-Sabadell; Mataró-Granollers; Terrassa-Martorell-Vilafranca and Vilafranca-Vilanova. In 2024, the Ministry of Transport already awarded the study of the Sabadell-Granollers section.
The ERC leadership has hastened to explain the details of this orbital line, which would have 30 stations, 18 of which are already operational, to municipal officials just as they are negotiating the Budgets and amidst the serious conflict with teachers. Members of ERC, PSC, and also the Government agree that conversations are advanced. The most probable hypothesis is that a bilateral commission will be held at the end of next week to address matters concerning the Central Administration, such as the final transfer of the Rodalies R1 line and other pending issues.
The Government registered the budget project last February and, in an unprecedented decision, was forced to withdraw it from Parliament as its approval was not guaranteed due to ERC’s rejection. However, on the same day, PSC and ERC issued a statement committing to agree on and approve the accounts in this session period, that is, before the end of July. Parliament has already approved, with the vote of the investiture bloc, a credit supplement worth 6 billion euros to manage the Generalitat with the extended 2023 accounts.
The first budget project failed when ERC confirmed that there were no feasible advances in sovereignty, specifically in income tax collection. At the beginning of the year, the Government and the republicans agreed on the financing model, which is still up in the air because it has to be processed in Congress, which is where the republicans intend to introduce amendments on tax collection. The PSOE has delayed the push for this reform, which does not have the endorsement of Junts and, therefore, its approval is not guaranteed either.
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