Canarian Coalition (CC) and Popular Party (PP) they do not want to leverage the South train project. Their groups in the Cabildo promote initiatives so that the island government activates this infrastructure, taking into account the state of communications and mobility on the island. The nationalists’ proposal pursues the availability of the money necessary to carry out a work that, for the conservatives , is an opportunity to end the “collapse” of the roads.
Carlos Alonso (CC) defends the need to “raise national and European funds to finance the south train“. The nationalist spokesman demands as a requirement that the Government of Spain include it in the Railway Network of General Interest (RFIG) “and that it forms part of the indicative strategy for the development, maintenance and renovation of the railway infrastructure”. In keeping with what he defended as president of the Island Corporation, Alonso emphatically states that “Tenerife cannot give up guided transport projects, because it is one of the solutions to improve mobility on the island, together with other actions, such as the BUS-HOV lanes and the improvement of roads”.
On the grounds that “the Cabildo is the competent administration to develop and promote the trains and it has to make a clear and forceful statement”, Alonso argues, contrary to what was said by the president of the Cabildo (the socialist Pedro Martín), that “Faced with the excuse that the train is very expensive, we have a historic opportunity to receive money from Spain and Europe to develop it.” And he insists on confronting the attitude of the Tenerife Island Corporation with its namesake in Gran Canaria, “where all the political parties approved a motion in their Cabildo to raise those funds.” In this framework, the counselor concludes that “Tenerife cannot be left behind and has to request that money to develop railway projects.”
“Tenerife cannot be left behind and has to request that money for the projects”
Carlos Alonso explains that it is necessary to take into account the mobility needs in the south of the island, “where the train project contemplates a Train-Tram in the corridor between San Isidro (Granadilla de Abona) and the tourist area of Los Cristianos ( Arona). It is a performance that could be launched with the money we receive.” The CC spokesman states that the tram and the trains “are bets of the Canarian Coalition and everyone knows that. Many of those who opposed the tram applaud it today”, for which he understands that “it has been shown that transport guided is a good solution to improve mobility”.
During the ordinary plenary session held by the Cabildo on January 28, Ciudadanos (Cs) presented a proposal to raise funds for the South train “which we support, but, finally, it was withdrawn at the instructions of Pedro Martín, because Sí Podemos Canarias threatened to break the government pact. We cannot allow private interests to be above those of the citizens of Tenerife,” says Alonso.
Don’t miss out on opportunities
The CC will not be the only motion on the South train in the next plenary session of the Tenerife Institution. The insular president of the Popular Party (PP), Emilio Navarro, announces that the political party he leads proposes an initiative to “achieve consensus” in the Corporation in light of “the importance of the Southern train for the present and future of this Island”. In his argument, Navarro emphasizes that “Tenerife cannot lose any more opportunities to put an end to the constant collapse of our roads”, but warns that “the political situation that exists within the Cabildo can lead to the island losing 2,500 million euros of European investment”.
PP and CC agree on their motions in several aspects. Among them, when defending “the need for the Southern train to be included in the Railway Network of General Interest (RFIG), so that it is taken into consideration within the indicative strategy for the development, maintenance and renovation of this railway infrastructure.
“Out of sheer political tactics PSOE and Cs renounce infrastructure for which we have been waiting for more than 20 years”
The president of the popular people of Tenerife also emphasizes “the importance that, once and for all, the Island Institution speed up the process of drawing up the Tenerife Mobility Plan”. Emilio Navarro considers it “a fundamental diagnostic tool” because “it must contain the keys to solve the problems that the Island suffers in this matter.” He points to the fact that the development of its content “will affect the quality of life of the people of Tenerife”. In this regard, he notes that “Tenerife has wasted too much time in the preparation of this Plan, a document that we, from the Popular Party, understand as a priority.”
After the latest political ups and downs related to the development of the southern train, Emilio Navarro regrets that “due to a matter of pure political tactics, and with the sole objective of preserving their positions, the PSOE and the vice president of the Cabildo, Enrique Arriaga -who presented and withdrew the motion in the last plenary session–, given the warnings from Podemos to abandon the pact, they have renounced having infrastructures for which we have been waiting for more than 20 years”.
