Among the mayors of the south of the island, from Candelaria to Santiago del Teide, The idea that building the South train is not a priority is increasing. An idea that predominates among the socialist aldermen, while the firm defense that it is necessary to start this project already endures among the nationalists, albeit with nuances. What they agree on is that it must be built, that the financing must be external to the Island and that it is environmentally sustainable.
Candelaria and Santiago del Teide, at the ends of the region, are antagonistic when requesting this work. In fact, the candelariera Mari Brito (PSOE) persists in its commitment to shared transport on demand, improving and maintaining the main roads and corridors, and designing a network to the towns with this type of transport or similar. But in what comes to be a change with respect to the plenary agreement of October 25, 2017 (agreed to reject the construction of the train and ask the Cabildo to stop the project), he announces that “we will host in Candelaria the planned stop in the project that already it has been developed, integrating it into the urban development model”, if the Cabildo chooses to continue with the railway.
Emilio Navarro (PP) from Santiago leads a party on the island that staunchly defends building this train. “We can’t waste any more time” to get this work off the ground. “What Pedro Martín sees as an expense, for us is an investment,” he said, recalling that 2,500 million European funds are at stake for Tenerife. “It won’t solve all mobility problems, but it will solve many,” he said.
In the Güímar Valley, Juan Ramón Martín (AIArafo or CC) and the güimarero Gustavo Pérez (CC) are in favor of the Southern train, but they consider the project to be better in the region. The Arafero mayor considers it “impepinable” that there is a stop at the Industrial Estate, “it doesn’t matter on the land of which municipality” and create a public transport network to connect it with the three in the area. Therefore, “yes, improving the project”. Pérez also says yes, but “the urgent thing is to resolve the saturation that the Polígono link already registers.”
Even in the Southeast, “the citizens of Fasnia would benefit, as long as a stop was established here.” Its mayor, Damián Pérez (PSOE), defines it as a “fair claim” because, he recalls, the train depots are projected in an area of possible expansion of the municipality. Among the repercussions that such planning has, “owners who are left without their farms or homes, in some cases, with other more complex consequences by not being able to sell or pending an expropriation that never comes.”
In Abona, Sebastián Martín (Primero Arico) does not change his position: «Public transport must be promoted, there must be public transport lines that connect our neighborhoods with the highway, it is necessary to recover the Tuwawa project and that there be train stops in our municipality, right now not foreseen in the project. With the fulfillment of all these conditions, we say yes to the train». And point.
“We are committed to the Tren del Sur because it can serve as an alternative to public transport, but it must be complemented. What doesn’t work is building more roads”, says José Domingo Regalado (CC), from Granadilla de Abona, while Arturo González (CC), in San Miguel de Abona, explains that “it is a unique opportunity that if, in addition, the with European funds, there would be no excuse for its non-implementation, because it is environmentally sustainable. We are in favour, above all, of the route from San Isidro to Playa de Las Américas».
Immovable is José Julián Mena (PSOE). The mayor of Arona insists that the priority is the Hospital del Sur and road works. “The train will take decades” to become a reality. His party colleague and former counterpart, José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga (PSOE), stresses that “at this time, the train from the South is not a priority for the island or for the region.” Line followed by Josefa Mesa (PSOE), mayor of Guía de Isora, for whom “the first thing is to free traffic in the well-known black spots of Tenerife, with actions on the TF-5 and the closure of the Insular Ring”.
