Mediterranean corridor: a bumpy track record

TarragonaFerrmed has decided to take the initiative. This body, which represents the chambers of commerce and business interests in the area that the Mediterranean railway corridor goes through, has published a report denouncing delays in the construction of the infrastructure, identifying the priorities and suggesting solutions to the project’s main technical problems. These are largely political in nature, as the Spanish government is fully behind the AVE (Spain’s fast passenger train) at the expense of the Mediterranean corridor. In 2015 Madrid will lay a further one thousand kilometres of AVE tracks, even though the Spanish high-speed service is clearly a loss-maker.

In the short term, Ferrmed’s action plan suggests that the Mediterranean corridor between Almeria and Turin could be operational by 2017, provided that the Spanish and French governments react and get down to work. With this leap ahead, they would activate the segment that is regarded as the corridor’s backbone: the connection between Valencia, Catalonia and southern France. In the coming weeks the plan will be presented at several high-level meetings between the two governments, including one with Spain’s Infrastructure Minister Ana Pastor. Ferrmed is hoping to throw its weight --and the weight of the companies and sectors it represents-- behind the project in order to persuade the Spanish government to change its attitude and show the determination needed to speed up the works.

Companies see the Mediterranean corridor as a key infrastructure to boost exports and trade with Europe. Despite Madrid’s misgivings, this axis would bring together an area that concentrates nearly 45 per cent of Spain’s population, 50 per cent of its GDP, 55 per cent of the industry and 50 per cent of all agricultural output.

A question of political will

“They are afraid of the Mediterranean corridor because it would isolate Madrid and because it would pull together an area that accounts for 50 per cent of Spain’s GDP”. This is how Ferrmed’s Secretary General Joan Amorós summarises the hurdles that the project faces in Madrid, even though the EU regards it as a priority. The Zapatero administration and the current PP government both played cat and mouse with this infrastructure: public support but without much actual funding, coupled with the ever-present threat of a central corridor linking Algeciras with Europe via Madrid and through the Pyrinees, an option that Europe does not see as viable. “There are parts that were put out to tender and have already been contracted out, but construction work has not begun”, Amorós says. “This shows how little political enthusiasm this project generates”, he added, and went on to complain that the ministry prioritises “fast passenger trains that are useless. They build infrastructures without considering their profitability, simply for political reasons based on Spain’s ancient radial structure”.

Only 10 per cent built south of Barcelona

The corridor’s completion all the way to Stockholm will be progressive and is not due until 2030. But, according to Ferrmed, by now it is running at least 18 months behind schedule. A good deal of the delay is down to Spain. The first hurdle is joining Algeciras with the French border with a two-way international gauge line for freight only. In some parts, this means changing the gauge of the railway line, building by-passes, sorting out problems with passenger traffic and line saturation. In other cases, the line needs to be built from scratch, as in the south. From Alacant to Algeciras, practically nothing has been done. Ferrmed estimates that only 10 per cent of the work has been completed south of Barcelona. That is why the lobby group has urged the Spanish government to speed up the planning of those stretches and to appoint a coordinator to boost the projects.

The importance of standards

One of Ferrmed’s demands is for the Mediterranean corridor to be designed in accordance with technical standards that guarantee the competitiveness of this infrastructure and that local companies and operators will find it profitable to use it to transport their goods. That is why it is essential, for instance, that trains on this line are at least 750 m long so that they are more profitable (in the US they can be as long as 3 km). Moreover, the gauge of the tunnels should be large enough to accommodate 5 metre tall freight cars and the line’s steepest gradients should not exceed 12 per thousand. Much of Europe’s railway network does not meet these standards and European governments must be persuaded to when they make the investments. According to Amorós “these standards can only be met with ambitious funding; it is not a whim but an investment that will allow the infrastructure to become a true business opportunity, with a return on the investment”.

The cash cow of Asian freight

Another effect of the Mediterranean corridor would be to attract freight travelling in the Mediterranean towards central Europe, a very substantial business that is estimated to grow by an additional 64 per cent by 2020. At present, ships from China, Japan and other nations sail round the Iberian Peninsula headed for the ports of Rotterdam, Hamburg or Anvers, which takes them three extra days. They have no choice as Mediterranean ports do not presently have competitive transport infrastructures to ship the freight to central Europe. The Mediterranean corridor would change this, as it would allow goods to get to central Europe faster by using the ports of Barcelona, Tarragona or Valencia, all of which would have a railway connection. This would have a significant economic impact, with a volume increase in those ports and new jobs being created in logistics.

First large batch of European funding

The Mediterranean corridor is one of the nine railway infrastructures which the European Commission regards as a priority. That is why the governments tasked with building it may apply for European funding to help with costs. EU funding may cover up to 30 per cent of the infrastructure’s total cost, but it needs to be done properly and projects must be submitted timely and following the procedures. The first large batch of European funding for the 2014-20 period is around the corner, giving the Spanish government another chance to show their intentions with regard to a project that, so far, they have only supported with political rhetoric.