Unequal distribution of railway investment: €1bn for Mediterranean corridor but €1.3bn for Atlantic

The Barcelona Chamber of Commerce issued a report denouncing the Spanish government for continuing to focus on investments that are not strategic: next year, 1 billion will be destined for the Mediterranean corridor, while more than 1.3 billion will go to the Atlantic corridor and more than 1.6 billion to other railway infrastructures outside of those that Europe has designated as priorities.

Although the Spanish government says that the Mediterranean corridor is getting 34% of the resources for railway investment -- more than 1.3 billion--, the Chamber has reduced that figure to 25% because it says that the State has included in its calculations many stretches of high-speed rail that are radial connections with Madrid. Only 11% are for high-speed connections along the coast, and a third of the total will go toward building the third lane -- the network of European track width--, according to the report.

The president of the Chamber, Miquel Valls, lamented that at a time of tight budgets the State remains committed to high-speed railways and is pouring resources into projects other than those deemed strategic priorities by the EU. He criticized that of the 8.5 billion set aside for infrastructures in the 2015 budget, 43% is destined for high-speed and is concentrated in Galicia (28%) and Castilla y León (20%).

The Chamber has criticized this distribution of resources. "The Andalusian section of the Mediterranean corridor is only a project, while the Atlantic section is already a reality", said Valls, who also pointed out that the rail access to the Port of Barcelona has yet to be built, a section which is essential for boosting the economy and for making the facilities more competitive.