The subject of a train connection between the provincial capital and the coast often crops up and the latest news contained information concerning a tunnel starting near Acebuches just to the south of the Beznar reservoir, which wouldn’t resurface until it reached Otura.

This means that it would pass near the reservoir and under the Padul Wetlands, which would cause a deal of concern for many. It would literally pass under the Valle de Lecrín

In Asturia a 25-km tunnel passing through a mountain, which took years to complete, had problems with water leaking into the tunnels. In fact, the tunnel seriously affected the mountain’s water table causing it to dry up, resulting in springs drying up and even alternation to the amount of water in nearby rivers.

Any problems encountered during the construction of the tunnel would cause long delays in the schedule, and like in the case of the Asturias rail tunnel, the doubling of the budget – that rail connection, including the tunnel, cost 4,000m euros in the end.

Bear in mind that the Asturias line was the case of improving an existing one, whereas the Granada-Motril would be starting from scratch.

The proposed line between Granada and Motril would connect the 58.723 inhabitants of the latter with the 228,682 inhabitants of the former, without counting people from nearby towns that would use the service. Then of course, there are the freight trains that will shift goods arriving and departing at Motril Port, cutting down on pollution caused by road traffic and at a much less expensive rate.

(News/Noticias: Valle de Lecrin, Granada, Andalucia)