the mediterranean corridor

Criticism against delays of infrastructure completion at event in Barcelona

Once completed, the Mediterranean Corridor will connect the south of Spain with the French border and serve 40% of Spain’s population

The Catalan and Valencian governments, together with social and economic representatives, have created a common front to push for the execution of the plan for the Mediterranean Corridor Railway. On Monday, they urged the Spanish Government to change its attitude and undertake pending investments within a “credible timeframe”. In a document presented after the bilateral summit celebrated at Valencia’s Generalitat Palace, the representatives demanded the realisation of the Corridor’s technical configuration and the designation of a Technical Coordinator in order to build a piece of infrastructure that should have a “high capacity” and be “efficient”. The delays in the construction of the infrastructure are affecting private investment: in Catalonia and Valencia pending investments are worth €300 million, according to the Catalan Minister for Planning and Sustainability, Josep Rull.

Multinational companies, railway operators, port authorities and government representatives met in the European Parliament to demand a boost of goods transportation by rail in Europe. They are pushing for the use of longer and heavier trains, able to transport more goods at a lower cost, with the consequent increase in competitiveness. These trains would circulate along specific corridors, such as the Mediterranean Railway Corridor, which will link the Gibraltar area with Central and Northern Europe passing through Spain’s Mediterranean ports and main industrial centres. The lobby organising the event, FERRMED, complained about the absence of representatives from the Spanish Government’s train operators.