Los servicios de cercanías en Madrid y Barcelona. Una visión histórica

Abstract

This paper draws a brief comparative history of suburban transport in Madrid and Barcelona, from its beginnings in the Franco's dictatorship to 2015. The justification of this study is that the two cities absorb the vast majority of those services; but also that the differences in the investments have been and are a relevant political argument that questions the role of the Central Administration as manager of transport infrastructures. The truth is that Madrid and Barcelona are, from the perspective of periurban transport, cities with very different problems, which also started from historical situations not comparable. Hence the need to make a historical and geographical analysis that exceeds the limitations of economic tools. The main conclusion of this paper is that between Madrid and Barcelona there has been a process of convergence in the provision of transport services.