The president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, has been in favor of the high-speed connection between Barcelona and Madrid continuing to operate during renovation works, as long as safety is guaranteed and it is sought to be "affecting the service as little as possible".
In an interview given this Monday to Cadena Ser and picked up by Europa Press, Illa has insisted that all the necessary investments and updates must be undertaken with maximum safety criteria, "but also affecting the service as little as possible".
The head of the Catalan Executive has backed the action of the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, after the railway accident in Urda (Toledo), as well as that of the central Government as a whole. However, he has made his own the words of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, who pointed out that it is not acceptable for a country like Spain to record two railway accidents of this magnitude in the same year: "From here, we have to see what the Government and the State can do to improve the situation".
In relation to the transfer of the powers of the first line of Rodalies to the Generalitat, Illa has emphasized that "the priorities are the same" as before the Urda accident and that the political objective has not changed.
He has detailed that the Ministry of Transport is fully engaged in managing the tragedy, but has stressed that the agreed roadmap remains: "We believe that this is what has to be done, act on governance, bringing it closer in matters of Rodalies to Catalunya".
Responsibility for the disturbances linked to the Blocus phenomenon
Illa has also addressed the Blocus phenomenon, which on Saturday, October 24, left more than 130 people arrested for serious disturbances in Barcelona and prompted the deployment of a large police operation on Saturday, October 31 to prevent new violent episodes.
In this regard, he has explained that he has ordered the legal services of the Generalitat to analyze the possible responsibility of the platforms and their executives in the organization of these calls: "They are not going to be spaces of impunity" to call on citizens to commit criminal acts.
He has emphasized that from the Govern all avenues will be exhausted to demand legal responsibility from them, both from the companies and from their managers, since, in his view, the platforms have the duty not only to prevent this type of calls, but also to provide information about who promotes them.