Catalonia cries out for a modern-day Via Agusta for goods transport

BarcelonaThe railway Mediterranean Corridor is becoming a tiresome mantra whose value might eventually get worn away. The advantages of such an infrastructure are so self-evident —from an economic and an environmental point of view— that everyone has come together in support of the project: from the CUP to the PP, including trade unions, business associations and chambers of commerce, as we saw the other day in Barcelona’s Palau de Pedralbes, where the Strategic Work Group for the Mediterranean Corridor was unveiled.

Although everybody agrees that this is a critically important project, political decisions by the PSOE and PP governments in Madrid have delayed the completion of the works so flagrantly that they have even got a rap on the knuckles by the EU. Spain preferred to boast about being the leading European country in high-speed train mileage —without knowing whether there was a passenger demand— and the second worldwide (after China) rather than to fork out the necessary funds to build the Mediterranean Corridor, which was declared a priority by the EU in 2011.

When the connection with France was completed in 2009, 8,000 trains were expected to use it every year and up to 20,000 by 2019, but the actual figure today is under one thousand trains. Catalan president Carles Puigdemont said that “when we mention delays, we are talking about specific figures like these, which means jobs and opportunities that our economy has missed out on, with grave consequences”.

Faced with Madrid’s political shortsightedness, two weeks ago Valencia launched the Valencian Forum for the Mediterranean Corridor and Catalonia has set up a similar lobby: the Strategic Work Group. They have scheduled a joint meeting in Valencia before the summer, where Balearics president Francina Armengol will also be invited. The new governments in the Balearics and Valencia have made it possible to bring back the Catalan Countries lobby to push for the very many interests shared by all three Catalan-speaking regions.

The Catalan-sponsored Group’s kick-off meeting was unanimously endorsed by all the parliamentary parties —with no exceptions—, who welcomed the government’s initiative. Only the PP leader, Xavier García Albiol, felt that it would have made sense for a representative of the State to be present because “Madrid will pay for the works”. Yet government sources argued that no Madrid or EU representatives should present because the Group aims to act an interest group to pressure higher-level administrations. At the meeting a six-point document was drafted outlining the lobbying strategies needed to complete the much-needed Mediterranean corridor —from institutional to media work—, which will be deployed by means of four work groups with politicians and experts from business associations and professional boards.

A further demand for Madrid arose from the meeting: to appoint an on-site works coordinator with executive powers to ensure that the project makes headway, someone who will be empowered by every administration. A good precedent is the construction of El Prat’s Terminal 1, where one such consensus figure helped to ensure that the project saw none of the problems encountered by the Mediterranean Corridor. Nevertheless, the Catalan government is aware that Madrid does not believe in such an executive and it will have to wait for the new Spanish government that arises from the Spanish elections on June 26.

Junts pel Sí

Germà Bel: We should call it “Madrid-terranean” corridor

One of the top experts in the Mediterranean corridor is currently a Junts pel Sí MP: Germà Bel. “Catalonia and Spain are two regions with mature economies and excessive infrastructures. They did not think about what they were missing, but what was needed; that’s why there are too many infrastructures and yet there are big gaps, such as the Mediterranean corridor”. Bel also mentioned that Madrid has “sneaked” funds for Spain’s central corridor into the budget for the Mediterranean line. For this reason he suggested that Spain’s Language Academy should determine that its name be changed to “Madrid-terranean” corridor.

Partido Popular

Albiol: “I can’t understand why no representatives from the State have been invited to join the Group”

“In the last four years, investment in the Mediterranean corridor has been constant. We have moved from a PowerPoint presentation to actually laying down tracks. We have invested €1.6bn, which may not be enough, but there’s been a great deal of spending effort to join all four Catalan provinces with fast train lines (AVE)”, explained the PP leader in Catalonia.

“I have discussed this with cabinet ministers in Madrid and they assured me that the only outstanding work is the Tarragona to Castelló segment, which might be completed in three to four years. We will insist that two years would be better than three”, he remarked.

Albiol also wondered why the Strategic Group included no representatives from the Spanish government, which is paying for the works: “I mentioned this to the president, he looked at me and smiled, but said nothing”.

Ciudadanos

Arrimadas: “The best way to ensure that the Mediterranean corridor gets stuck is to insist on demanding independence”

Ciudadanos leader Inés Arrimadas voiced the most political commentary following the Group’s meeting: “It’s funny how they demand a disconnection from Spain yet they speak about connecting Catalonia to Spain and to the world via the Mediterranean corridor”. For this reason she insisted that “The best way to ensure that the Mediterranean corridor goes nowhere is to insist on demanding independence”.

“We shall continue working; Spain must change and make economically and socially useful works a priority”, she concluded.

PSC

Iceta: “Spain must choose the Mediterranean corridor, not the central line”

The Catalan leader of the socialist party, Miquel Iceta, emphasised his party’s “support for the Mediterranean corridor and the connection between the regions that will benefit from this infrastructure”.

“Not everything is possible in life and Spain must decide on a trans-European railway network, which should be the Mediterranean corridor and not the central line” (which runs through Madrid).

“For a nation that too often talks about disconnections that never come, for once it is a good thing to discuss connections”, he quipped.

Catalunya Sí Que Es Pot (CSQP-Podemos)

Rabell: “This axis vertebrates territories and societies”

Finally, the leader of Catalunya Sí Que Es Pot (CSQP-Podemos), Lluís Rabell, also showed his unreserved support for the Mediterranean corridor: “We need to change our economic model in order to reindustrialise Catalonia and suitable infrastructures are a requirement for that. This axis vertebrates territories and societies”.