Tenerife Cabildo Hosts Global Ideas Contest for Northern Railway Design

The Cabildo of Tenerife, via the company Metrotenerife, has initiated an international project competition aimed at establishing a train service in the northern part of the island utilizing a non-conventional railway system.

Specifically, this initiative invites exploration of existing “solutions” within the sector and aims to identify proposals that harmoniously blend with the Tenerife landscape, whilst promoting “sustainable and efficient” mobility, as stated by Metrotenerife.

The route is required to align with the corridor of the current TF-5 motorway without compromising its existing or future capacity, facilitate transfers with tram and southern train services, or uphold a high level of transport capacity and alignment with the island’s socio-economic and territorial model, particularly in the northern region.

Applications must be submitted by January 31, with the whole process expected to unfold over approximately 20 months from the announcement published on January 3, which has been effectively disseminated through standard communication channels for such contests.

According to the regulations, this competition is conducted anonymously and is limited to a maximum of 10 applications, with a monetary prize of 450,000 euros, which will be allocated in various compensations to participants.

Additionally, there will be various awards based on the evaluations made by the jury, which will supervise the process and provide final remuneration for the foundational development of the selected solution.

The appointed jury will be responsible for selecting the most suitable proposals based on operational, financial, and construction criteria, among others, before determining the winners.

Furthermore, the competition encompasses a concluding phase where the writing of the feasibility study for the alternative railway system that ranks highest will be awarded.

Significant Project Costs

The estimated cost for the train project covering both the northern and southern areas of the island—excluding the 450,000 euros from this competition and an additional 90,000 euros spent in September for renewing the environmental impact study—is around 2,200 million euros. The Cabildo and the Government of the Canary Islands are seeking state funding for this, alongside that for the Gran Canaria train. In total, these projects would necessitate an investment exceeding 4,000 million euros.

It is noteworthy that a study commissioned by the Tenerife Cabildo during the previous administration to investigate potential solutions to the island’s mobility issues (now approaching a million residents, plus tourists) found that the train project was rated lower in priority. The document highlighted other more effective, swift, and affordable alternatives, such as the implementation of BUS-HOV lanes.

Despite these findings, the current Government team (CC-PP) persists with its train initiatives, albeit lacking clarity on how these will be financed.

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