Almeria's link with the Mediterranean Corridor will for now remain unfunded by the European Union. Almeria's vegetables will still need to wait for this train to arrive, according to hortoinfo.
The AVE (high speed train) rail section between Almeria and Murcia will form part of the Mediterranean Corridor, although it is still undetermined when. This is what emerges from the recent presentation to entrepreneurs and politicians of the Trans European Transport Networks in Valencia, Spain.
The Mediterranean Corridor is indeed a priority issue for the European Union within its infrastructure plans; however, Almeria is not part of this priority. In the design of the Corridor's extension to Algeciras, it was preferred to connect Cartagena and Algeciras via the route to Granada, through Bobadilla's rail junction, in the province of Malaga.
A project on hold
After this public announcement, the chosen rail sections in the document will obtain priority status and will therefore receive funding. The Members of the European Parliament who hosted the presentation, Luis de Grandes (PP), Inés Ayala (PSOE) and Izaskun Bilbao (Grupo Liberal), admitted that Almeria "is out" of the European programme, and as a result, will not receive European funding.
Inés Ayala pointed out the great difficulties that the extension of the Mediterranean Rail Corridor to Algeciras would entail, not only due to the roughness of the terrain, but also to the amount of expropriations that would be needed, as many of the grounds include building sites and agricultural exploitations.
Luis de Grandes ratified these difficulties and affirmed that the high speed section between Murcia and Almeria is no longer among the EU's priorities, and thus will depend entirely on the Spanish Government, which can choose to carry it forward. Nevertheless, he reckons that the project will move slowly, as "everyone knows that the current financial situation is not the best to tackle high cost projects like this."
In any case, none of the three MEPs fully dismissed the possibility of Almeria ever receiving some sort of funding.
After this public announcement, the chosen rail sections in the document will obtain priority status and will therefore receive funding. The Members of the European Parliament who hosted the presentation, Luis de Grandes (PP), Inés Ayala (PSOE) and Izaskun Bilbao (Grupo Liberal), admitted that Almeria "is out" of the European programme, and as a result, will not receive European funding.
Inés Ayala pointed out the great difficulties that the extension of the Mediterranean Rail Corridor to Algeciras would entail, not only due to the roughness of the terrain, but also to the amount of expropriations that would be needed, as many of the grounds include building sites and agricultural exploitations.
Luis de Grandes ratified these difficulties and affirmed that the high speed section between Murcia and Almeria is no longer among the EU's priorities, and thus will depend entirely on the Spanish Government, which can choose to carry it forward. Nevertheless, he reckons that the project will move slowly, as "everyone knows that the current financial situation is not the best to tackle high cost projects like this."
In any case, none of the three MEPs fully dismissed the possibility of Almeria ever receiving some sort of funding.
The current Trans European Transport Networks programme covers the 2014-2020 period, so if the section between Murcia and Almeria is not included, it will not receive any European funding for at least another seven years.
The MEPs proposed solutions to this situation, such as connecting Almeria to the Mediterranean Corridor through Cartagena (via the high-speed train to Murcia), although this project is even more delayed. Inés Ayala believes it "fair" to include Almeria in the plan, as it should not be excluded from the Mediterranean Corridor.
Fuente: La Voz de Almería