Almeria authorities insist on the need for a faster rail link with Granada

THE new rail connection between Almeria and Granada was welcomed but also criticised for arriving “30 years late.”

Javier Aureliano Garcia, president of the Diputacion provincial council, and Almeria City mayor Ramon Fernandez-Pacheco agreed that the project was urgently needed to complete the Mediterranean Corridor linking Almeria with the rest of Europe.

Nevertheless, after their April 22 meeting with junior Infrastructure minister and Maria Luisa Dominguez – president of Spain’s rail infrastructure provider, Adif – they described the plan as “conformist and unambitious.”

Garcia and Fernandez-Pacheco pointed out that the new connection would, at best, reduce the Almeria-Granada route by 30 minutes, taking 114 against the current 144.

Javier Aureliano Garcia stressed the need for a far greater reduction in the journey time if the Almeria-Granada train was to be competitive.

“It is vital that this should take under 90 minutes,” he said.  “Adif and Infrastructuresagreed to continue studying this possibility and we have offered to collaborate with them.”

Despite their initial disappointment, Garcia and Fernandez-Pacheco thanked Dominguez and Flores for attending the meeting, which was carried out “in a climate of cordiality and mutual collaboration.”

They also revealed that this meeting was the result of pressure from the Diputacion and Almeria city hall following three consultations between Adif, Xavier Flores and the Granada authorities to which their Almeria counterparts were not invited.