The Community of Madrid has formally lodged an administrative contentious-judicial appeal with the National Court, targeting the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente. The legal action is based on the alleged failure to convene the Sectoral Conference on Transport, an entity considered essential for coordination between the State and the autonomous communities, which has not met for over three years.
The regional Executive, led by Isabel Díaz Ayuso, had previously sent a formal request to the Ministry at the end of April, urging the activation of this body. In that document, it warned that if the meeting was not convened within 30 days, judicial action would be pursued, a threat that has now been carried out.
The regulations governing this cooperation forum stipulate that meetings should be held semi-annually. However, the last session took place in July 2022. For the Community of Madrid, this situation constitutes a breach of institutional coordination obligations and an obstacle to the joint management of mobility and public transport.
Sources within the regional government argue that the absence of this body hinders a coordinated response to the challenges facing the transport system. They point to a deterioration in the Cercanías commuter rail service and an increase in incidents in recent years as factors requiring joint action.
In this regard, the Regional Transport Consortium of Madrid (CRTM) emphasizes the need to strengthen cooperation mechanisms between the different administrations to optimize infrastructure planning and improve the quality of service provided to citizens.
The spokesperson for the regional government, Miguel Ángel García, has publicly criticized the minister's attitude, urging him to abandon what he described as "usual bullying on social media" and to act "like a minister." García also justified the decision to resort to legal action following the non-compliance with the prior request.
The Madrid Executive insists that incidents on the Cercanías network have significantly increased recently and demands explanations regarding the planned investments to reverse what they consider a decline in the service's condition.
