The initial stages, crucial for turning the well-known projects into a reality and providing railway services to the two main islands of the Canary Islands, are not moving forward at the same pace. Despite an important development achieved yesterday with the establishment of a working group formed by the Ministry of Transport and the two relevant councils.
For a sense of the significant contrast in the advancement of both projects, while in Gran Canaria the stop locations are already identified (11 stops from the capital to the South of the island) and expropriations are set to commence shortly, Tenerife still has a long way to go. Last year, the decision was made for the future train to operate only in the South initially (between San Isidro and Costa Adeje), with major milestones including the selection of workshop and depot locations (Fasnia), among others. Another noteworthy detail is that while the project in Gran Canaria is already under review by the mandatory environmental body, Tenerife has not yet initiated this process. This, as known, is a crucial step.
Nonetheless, it is understandable that the Government of the Canary Islands celebrated the progress marked by the inaugural meeting of the aforementioned working group yesterday. The significance of this gathering lies predominantly in the fact that the Canarian authorities have placed both railway projects on the national agenda, showing the State Government the importance of incorporating a stable provision in the budgets. If successful, it is anticipated to materialize in the national accounts by 2025.
Another achievement from yesterday’s meeting is that the Ministry will commission its evaluation on the socio-economic impact of these infrastructures on both islands, contributing to the data already compiled by the councils.
Regarding the decision for the Tenerife railway to initially focus on the southern route (encompassing three stations at Tenerife Sur airport, Los Cristianos, and Playa de Las Américas), it is pertinent to note that experts deemed it the most feasible due to high passenger numbers in that section. Notably, the chosen model is the train-tran, similar to the existing tram in the metropolitan area.
Commencing from the South does not indicate in any way a renunciation by Tenerife Cabildo of potential future railway services linking La Orotava Valley with La Laguna and Santa Cruz. Nevertheless, the train from San Isidro to Costa Adeje is not expected to start operating for at least a decade.
