The dissolution of the Congress of Deputies and Senate means residents of Lleida's Horta will not receive a planned public answer today on whether the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility will pay for cracks and other damage attributed to railway vibrations in their homes.

Sara Bailac, an ERC senator for Lleida, was due to put the question to the ministry in the Senate plenary. ERC's municipal group at the Paeria, Lleida City Council, said the question had been listed on the agenda but cannot now be heard because the chambers have been dissolved ahead of the general election on Sunday 29 November.

Royal Decree 806/2026, published in the Official State Gazette on Tuesday 6 October 2026, formally dissolved the chambers and set the election timetable. The campaign is due to run from Friday 13 November to Friday 27 November, with the newly elected Cortes, Spain's parliament, scheduled to meet on 23 December.

“The election call stops this question, but it does not stop our work or erase the debt the state has to these families,” Bailac said. “We will bring the matter back to parliament until there is a clear answer and an effective solution.”

Residents' repair bill remains unresolved

According to ERC's Lleida municipal group, a study commissioned by affected residents put the cost of repairing cracks and fissures in the homes at €879,665. The party said the central government has not said who would assume that cost.

ERC said ADIF, the state-owned railway infrastructure manager, had found that measurements at 17 buildings exceeded residential reference thresholds in some cases. It said ADIF had carried out mitigation work on Lleida's railway bypass, including:

  • replacing track base plates;
  • grinding the rails; and
  • tamping the track to improve its alignment and stability.

The party also said the Spanish government had been working on a track-improvement project that includes renewing noise barriers. ERC maintains that these works do not answer the outstanding question of liability for the damage already reported by households.

“The cracks remain in the houses and families still do not know who will take responsibility for the damage,” said Jordina Freixanet, ERC's spokesperson at Lleida City Council.

ERC said it would pursue the issue again after the election, once the new parliament is constituted on 23 December.

Reported by ercpaeria.cat, Clara Cerrada of, elcontrapunt.cat.