No Rail Link for Motril

Finally, the powers that be in Brussels have decided that the Europe-wide, railway-freight network will not pass between Almeria and Malaga via the coast, giving Motril Port a rail connection at last. It seems that the Costa Tropical has been put on the back burner yet again.

Instead, the rail connection will pass from Almeria inland,via Guadix, to Granada, before it plunges on all the way down to Algeciras. It makes sense, because it is the cheapest option, as a railway line already exists between Almeria and Granada, which will only need adapting to international gauge and a parallel line laid to cater for simultaneous 2-way traffic, which is not the same as starting from scratch, with cuttings, tunnels, bridges and embankments to be made.

But despite all the sighing and chest beating coming from the Costa Tropical, is a rail link really necessary? Valencia, for example, with its huge Ford motorcar factory, would be stumped if they could only move their new products out, six to a lorry, via road – they need a railway outlet. Algeciras is a monster port by Spanish standards and has an equal need for a bulk-transport outlet, such as only rail can provide.

But Motril is a much smaller affair and a more specialised one, according the the Motril Port Authorities, who won’t be slashing their collective wrists over this setback. What Motril Port needs – and will soon have – is a direct connection to the Mediterranean and Granada-Madrid autovias, A-7 and A-44, respectively.

It has been refreshing to have seen the business sector, provincial Chamber of Commerce and politicians from both sides of the political spectrum pull together for the common cause of getting Motril Port ‘on the map,’ but the reality is that there is simply not enough money to lay infrastructure to everybody’s requirements – Europe is not a bottomless pocket as far as funds go and the 31,700 million euros set aside would disappear just on the Mediterranean link between Almeria and Malaga, let alone suffice for the the central system connecting Badajoz to Alicante via Madrid and the northern system, connecting Valencia to Bilbao – and that’s only Spain within a plan to link over 80 European ports via international gauge railway freight lines.

(News: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)

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