The great train debate goes on

All the mayors of the Costa del Sol have protested against the Government’s refusal to get behind the coastal train.

Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, said before Easter, that there is no plan to promote the coastal train in a reasonable time because “there is no paper, no road study or environmental impact statement” to justify it.

Francisco de la Torre, councillor of Málaga, responded that Óscar Puente, “must have a bad memory, not to say that he is lying shamelessly, if he says that there are no documents to support the railway project”.

And, if cost is a problem, De la Torre proposes, “to study public-private collaboration, which will not cost more to the citizen if a company, be it Renfe, or whatever name you want to call it, should take care of part of the financing”.

The Mayor of Marbella, Ángeles Muñoz, said that “it is unacceptable that a minister should dismiss an essential project for the municipality and the whole of the Costa del Sol with the sole argument that it is complicated to execute”.

“He has no idea what he is talking about”

She also added that “above all, it is particularly embarrassing that Mr Puente states that ‘there is not a single piece of paper’ to develop this railway connection because it shows that he has absolutely no idea what he is talking about”.

Ana Mula, the mayor of Fuengirola, warned that, “it is increasingly clear that the government of Pedro Sánchez despises such a thriving and dynamic area of the country as the Costa del Sol”.

José María García Urbano, Mayor of Estepona, said, “It is incomprehensible that, despite all the contribution made by the Costa del Sol to the national GDP, this economic growth is not accompanied by modern and competitive facilities such as a rail connection”.

Ana Mata, Mayor of Mijas said that Puente’s statements, “show an absolute neglect and lack of interest in an issue that generates a broad consensus in all political representatives of the province” and that the minister, ” should not hide in puerile excuses and get to work to address a historical claim of Malaga”.