Head of the Principality of Asturias, Adrián Barbón, and his Cantabria counterpart, Miguel Ángel Revilla, met with Transport Minister Raquel Sánchez at the Ministry of Transport at the summit. The crisis that started with the ‘Fevemocho’ scandal. “I left my skin to learn everything and solve the situation, I showed my face from day one. We apologized, understood the mistake, clarified our responsibilities and had an internal audit. We formed a working group to speed up the construction of these trains as much as possible,” he said. Both he and the regional presidents agreed various measures to compensate for the delay of new trains: among them that Cercanías will be completely free for Asturias and Cantabrias until 2026.
” happened first failuresIt took time to respond to a complex question and although everything was fine, I would have loved to have had the information much sooner,” explains Raquel Sánchez, “time to take responsibilitybecause “we must be honest and consistent with our responsibilities”.
Raquel Sánchez confirmed that she has accepted the resignations of Isabel Pardo de Vera, Minister of State for Transport, and Isaías Táboas, president of Renfe, and will replace them with David Lucas and Raúl Blanco, respectively.start a new phase“, Sánchez later explained that an inspector was appointed to conduct an audit to find, first and foremost, what “failed.”
From there, he reviewed the events of ‘Fevemocho’ and the sequence of events. “It’s important to explain things, to be clear and realistic,” he said. He wanted to make it clear that the money was not wasted and that none of the ill-timed trains were ever produced. Of course, clarification clarified what you wanted, why it took so long to fix the glitch in the design phase of the project.
owned by Raquel Sanchez blamed the former central government. PP “absolutely abandoned” fire and reviewed his Ministry’s investments in Asturias and Cantabria for the Cercanías network. “This setback cannot cover everything we have done for Asturias and Cantabria.” And he wanted to oppose the current central government’s rail policy regarding the previous phase of the PP: “We now only have facts and certainties in front of power points and cigarette vendors.” “We are the Government with unblocked projects stored in a drawer,” he added, enabling the work on the Gijón-Laviana network.this is just the beginning“About Cercanías’ reform in the Principality.
He wanted to put low investment figures in Cercanías from previous governments: “Between 2012 and 2017 investment decreased by 55% and the Government focused only on high speed.” He cited Feve’s “neglect of the PP government since 2007, since no trains have been purchased for metric gauge.” He assured Pedro Sánchez Manager “has made more than 1,100 million commitments for commuter trains in Asturias” and that we “double the initial estimate”.
Corrective measures
Raquel Sánchez signs a document with Adrián Barbón and Miguel Ángel Revilla agree on a set of measures To mitigate the effects of ‘Fevemocho’. “The first thing is to clarify the planning we are managing,” said Raquel Sánchez. In the first months of 2026, we put the first of these trains into circulation.“.
Likewise, Sánchez spoke of “measures to ease the delay.” In this sense, he said, “we will strengthen a process”. renewal of existing trains so that they can provide better service until new ones arrive.” He talked about regulations on issues such as “accessibility, inside trains, reliability…”.
Likewise, new trains to be produced will increase from 31 to 38, the “maximum stipulated in the contract”. The minister stressed that the two regional presidents and he signed the document containing these measures. royal commitment and open.”
Other measures will consist of drawing up an action plan in the suburban network of Asturias and Cantabria and appointing a commissioner to carry out the suburban plans of the two autonomous communities. They will be examined, he assured, a “reorganizing and improving frequencies and travel times“.
Likewise, the long-awaited rate merger of the metric and traditional indicator networks will come. Thus, with the same ticket or title, passengers from Asturias and Cantabria will be able to switch indefinitely from the Renfe-gauge commuter train to the Feve-gauge commuter train and vice versa.
Finally, the Minister spoke of “financing the two communities so that they can improve public transport”. extension of free rail services“. Both Revilla and Barbón then assured that this funding would be sufficient so that Asturians and Cantabrias could travel free on the Feve and Renfe shuttles until the new trains were delivered in 2026.
The Principality Head explained that the signed document was not an agreement, but a protocol that “requires much more time than we have.” Despite this, he wanted to show interest in the document: “For us, a political agreement was necessary to demand compliance.”
free until 2026
Principality Head, Adrián Barbón gave a unity speech with Revilla during the appearance, but the latter was a little tougher against the Ministry. Barbon agreed ‘Fevemocho’ took them by surprise. “I openly admitted that in Asturias we were very focused on the variant that missed us,” he said, “and there was a joint response from the two autonomous communities.” “Without tribes or borders,” he later added. He wanted to make it clear that “my priority will always be Asturias” before the PSOE in Madrid.
“I took it upon myself to ask the Minister for a meeting to clarify responsibilities. Other ministers would have chosen to say there was no place on the agenda, but this minister offered to give us a date. true, The minister showed his face.“It was stress.
Regarding the measures to compensate for the damage caused by the delay in the arrival of new trains for the Feve network, Barbón said that “some realistic deadlines, no milongasHe believes that “dates are realistic and can be seen”. He also underlined the increase in the number of trains that will be produced and will go to the Beylik.
Likewise, both Barbón and Revilla assured that the State’s monetary contribution would “guarantee free use not only on the Feve network but also on Renfe, until the 38 trains are fully delivered.” Something that will happen predictably and in early 2026, if there are no further mishaps. Likewise, he expressed hope that the figure of the commissioner would allow compliance with suburban plans in Asturias and Cantabria to be monitored. Who can ask for clarification?
Arrival of Barbón and Revilla
Barbón and Revilla came to the Ministry together and felt an unbreakable unity. “We are united by a crime done to usOf course, they did not want to decide on the dismissal of Isabel Pardo de Vera, Minister of State for Transport, and Isaías Táboas, president of Renfe. They wanted to wait for statements about them. The Minister gives them at this afternoon’s meeting.
“We came with great anger humiliated and deceived“On his arrival, Barbón reminded the Minister that they would ask the Minister for “solutions” in addition to their debugging responsibilities for “Fevemocho” because “it is a matter of justice,” he said. If we are not satisfied with the explanations, we will continue the fight,” he said.
Barbón and Revilla have highlighted the terms of their anger that they have shown in recent weeks. “The seriousness of the problem becomes clear when it is confirmed that trains are now slower than at the end of the 21st century,” said the Cantabria president.
Barbón and Revilla will request the minister to shorten the time of new trains delayed by ‘Fevemocho’ so that they pass through the narrow-gauge circumference of Asturias and Cantabria as soon as possible. In this sense, he stated that they would propose making him the president of Asturia.”partial delivery as manufacturedLikewise, they reminded that they will request “free to Feve and Renfe users” in both regions until the problem is resolved.
Carlos Fernández Mayo, director of the Conventional Rail and Transport Promotion Association (Affecom), was waiting to see the two presidents at the ministry’s doorstep. He delivered a document from the platform to Barbón and Revilla and asked them to commit to an end to the railroad situation in the Northwest, which is “disgraceful”. The statement was also signed by user associations from Asturias, Cantabria, Galicia and Castilla y León.