Tarragona No one knows yet what the new route will be proposed by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (Mitma) to pass freight trains through Tarragona, but the general feeling is that, finally, it will be agreed with the territory. “We are convinced that it will be a reasonable proposal”, says the spokesman for the Mercaderies per l’Interior platform, Eugeni Sedano. And so far, none of the Mediterranean Corridor proposals that have been presented have convinced the territory.
Proposed route for goods
Last March, the Secretary of State for Transport and Sustainable Mobility, José Antonio Santano, met with the mayors of Tarragona, Reus and El Vendrell. In that meeting, the representative of the State undertook to rethink what should be the layout of the Mediterranean Corridor as it passes through Tarragona, and to reactivate the working groups to find a consensual solution. The very next day, Tarragona’s economic sector held an event at Pimec’s headquarters in Barcelona to request that the route not go along the coast, as was initially planned, but instead run inland but away from populated areas . At that event, the president of the Port of Barcelona, Lluís Salvadó, and the president of the Port of Tarragona, Saül Garreta, were present, as well as different mayors and the Minister of Territory, Ester Capella. The pressure to close once and for all a consensual route for this much-needed infrastructure continued in the electoral campaign, when the Mercaderies per l’Interior platform organized a debate where all the political parties also defended this same position.
Currently, the goods, on their way through Tarragona, travel along the coast on a different track width than in the rest of Europe. Based on a proposal from the government of Mariano Rajoy, a third road is being built on this line of the coast along which goods should be transported temporarily. This was the most economical option, but also the one that can generate the most problems. On the one hand, it involves loading even more a route that no longer gives the range. “It is clear that one day it will collapse. It is a corridor that needs to be strengthened, and in the Commuter Plan it is already planned to gradually increase journeys [de viatgers]; therefore, yes, it will collapse”, concludes the researcher of the Technical School of Architecture in Reus, Miquel Virgili Martínez.
It should be borne in mind that, according to Europe’s requirements, in 2030 30% of goods will have to be transported by train. Currently, in the State only 4% of goods move through the railway infrastructure. In addition, in Tarragona are the two lines of goods that arrive from the rest of the State, the one that comes from the interior and the one from the Mediterranean. The other problem caused by the route along the coast is the impact on the territory. The coast line crosses municipalities, such as Tarragona or El Vendrell, and no one wants trains close to home and even less if they can transport dangerous goods, as is the case.
High speed and AP-7
The route that the Mercaderies per l’Interior platform has agreed with town councils, the economic and chemical sector and environmental organizations goes through the interior, but far from inhabited areas. The route connects the two lines (the one coming from the interior and the one from the south of the Mediterranean) after passing Reus through a bypass, and continues for a section next to the C-14 until it reaches the polygon of Constantí. From here it continues parallel to the already existing high-speed tracks to La Pobla de Montornès, where it climbs to Barcelona parallel to the AP-7.
The municipalities in the interior of Tarragona are also waiting. Of the three previous proposals, two crossed Valls, one of which taking advantage of a 19th century road that passes by two institutes and two schools. “We would like to say that we have confidence, but, at the moment, we are waiting”, explains Sònia Roca, Councilor for Sustainability and Urban Planning of Valls. Roca also sees with good eyes the proposal made by Mercaderies per l’Interior because it “takes advantage of the wounds that the territory already has, such as high speed and the AP-7”.
“We were expecting the proposal after June 9, but we no longer know when it will arrive,” says Roca. And the only thing that everyone seems to be clear about is that the latest proposal will not arrive until the end of the electoral cycle.
2024-05-21 21:59:32
#Tarragona #confidently #awaits #freight #rail #route
