The Cabildo de Tenerife will launch an international ideas competition before the end of the year to design the Northern railway line. This was announced on Friday by Rosa Dávila, president of the island’s corporation, during the State of the Island debate.
The competition will focus on cutting-edge projects based on hanging trains or magnetic levitation, which have been very successful in countries like Japan and China as they do not consume as much land or energy as conventional methods.
“I take this opportunity to announce that, before the end of the year, we will call for the International Ideas Competition for the Northern Train of Tenerife, to be the starting point of an avant-garde railway project of the latest generation,” announced Rosa Dávila to all councilors.
The President of Tenerife detailed during her speech: “We must think big and for the future: elevated solutions that run above the highway without consuming more land, suspended monorail trains or other solutions that already exist and work in Japan or China.”
The president emphasized the importance of not consuming more land, emphasizing that elevated infrastructures can be more harmoniously integrated into the Tenerife landscape, minimizing environmental impact and contributing to a smoother and more efficient mobility.
Furthermore, Dávila reiterated her call for collaboration and consensus among all the political and social forces on the island and once again proposed a Grand Pact for Mobility in Tenerife. This pact must include all opposition political forces because, in this crucial matter, we can and must all contribute,” she added.
The Grand Pact for Mobility in Tenerife seeks to bring together efforts to address transportation challenges on the island, promoting solutions that improve the quality of life for the citizens and reduce traffic congestion. This initiative reflects the commitment of the Cabildo de Tenerife to work inclusively and collaboratively to build a more sustainable and efficient future.
There are various types of elevated trains that use technology different from conventional ones, which consume a lot of energy and land. One is the hanging train or monorail, implemented in Japan, Germany, and China, a complementary transportation system to conventional trains that uses a single rail.
In reality, this technology emerged in the last century. During the first half of the 20th century, many monorail designs were proposed that did not progress beyond the prototype stage. It was in the second half of the 20th century when a technological solution that works was achieved.
There are various types of elevated trains that use technology different from conventional ones. One is the hanging train or monorail, implemented in Japan, Germany, and China
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One of the first experiences, in the 1950s, was the design by Alweg of a German company for a beam monorail. A first prototype based on this design was created in 1957 in a neighbourhood of Cologne (Germany) successfully. Later, in the 1960s, the Safege design for suspended monorails emerged, with a first prototype on the outskirts of Orleans (France).
At present, there are hanging trains with both short and long routes in Japan, China, Germany, and Australia. The country that has bet the most on this technology is Japan, where currently three suspended monorails operate, the Shonan Monorail between Kamakura and Enoshima, the Chiba Urban Monorail, and the Sky Rail in Hiroshima. All are yielding very good results.
Another option is the magnetic levitation train, maglev type (from the English magnetic levitation), a transportation system that includes suspension, guidance, and propulsion of trains using a large number of magnets for levitation and magnetic propulsion.
This method has the advantage of being faster, quieter, and more sustainable than conventional trains. These trains can easily exceed 500 kilometers per hour. The first fully automated low-speed commercial maglev was the one that operated from Birmingham International Airport to the city station between 1984 and 1985.
The maximum demonstrated speed of a real maglev in commercial operation is that obtained by the German train Transrapid installed inShanghai, China, operates a passenger service covering 30 kilometres in just 7 minutes and 20 seconds, routinely achieving a maximum speed of 431 kilometres per hour and an average of 250 on the journey.
For the Tren del Sur de Tenerife project, the Cabildo has already decided that it will be a conventional suburban railway line, which will start developing with a specific stretch: San Isidro (Granadilla de Abona) and Adeje.
Regarding this southern line, Rosa Dávila mentioned in the debate on the state of the island that “when we build it, the train journey from San Isidro to Costa Adeje will be the third most important railway system in all of Spain, only behind Madrid and, scarcely, Barcelona: it will serve two regions where 500,000 people move daily.”
“The most important thing is that it will allow us to leave thousands of cars at home. For this, it is essential for Tenerife to be within Spain’s general interest railway network, to access state and European funding,” highlighted the president of the Cabildo, to specify: “Unfortunately, in the four years of the previous term, no one had explained this to the Minister of Transport.”
“This team”, referring to the Cabildo Government formed by CC and PP, “has held a high-level political meeting with the Minister in less than a year, in addition to several follow-up meetings with the General Secretariat of Railways and the Government of the Canary Islands“. “And, in the coming months, we will be in Brussels seeking its funding. If Spain is a global power in rail transport, Tenerife must measure up, with innovative solutions that do not require lengthy and costly expropriations,” concluded Rosa Dávila.
As these are such costly projects, the Canary Government, in coordination with the Cabildo de Tenerife, is opting to develop them in stages to start as soon as possible. The Sustainable Mobility Plan for Tenerife includes an island railway ring that incorporates, in addition to those in the South and North, the West line – which would connect Icod de los Vinos and Adeje – as well as an underground line between Güímar and La Orotava. The total cost is close to 6 billion Euros.
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The Canary Government and the Tenerife Cabildo prefer to divide the South and North lines to make them viable. The first action that would be considered is the aforementioned section San Isidro de Granadilla-Costa Adeje, to then gradually complete the line from the South to Santa Cruz. «It should be noted that just this section, including the stations and depots, would cost about 800 million», clarified Rosa Dávila in statements from last week. It would be a conventional train like the suburban ones, passing through different points, including Reina Sofía airport.
