Each country faces the enormous challenge of responding to the new mobility of passengers and goods. And for this the existing and future infrastructure must meet the new needs. In Spain, important steps are being taken to enhance sustainable transport such as the railroad and take a turn in maritime transport using ecological and fuel ships that do not contaminate. However, as occurs in many other countries, the road is the predominant transport mode. And the challenge therefore increases, once electric mobility by road does not go to the desired rhythm.
Vicente Negro Valdecantos, Professor of Environment Technologies of the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM), details the good health of civil engineering to respond to the challenges of the 21st century. On the one hand, «it is advanced in sustainable ports. The transport of merchandise with organic ships and non -polluting fuels is also a challenge, ”he says. As for the railroad, remember that “it must be the territorial connectivity link. We do not have to think about high speed for all cities, but in a remarkable improvement in railway infrastructure ». And when talking about roads, these “must adapt to intelligent systems and start exploring the roads of vehicles without driver.”
Planning
According to a recent report prepared by Sener to commission, Seopan, Spain needs an investment of 150,833 million in infrastructure transport priorities. Most of this investment, 85,083 million, corresponds, to planned actions, to which 57,154 million are added in modernization and adaptation of existing infrastructure and another 8,595 million for innovative projects. With a 2024-2035 execution horizon, these actions aim to renew, maintain and expand the transport network to resolve the growing demand for mobility in Spain and congestion problems, highlighting rail actions (51,315 million euros) and the roads (26,935).
The interior national mobility of people and goods is mainly supported by the road, hence the road projects planned in the last two decades representing 24,067 million investment for the construction of 2,415 km of new highways are considered a priority. To complete the connection of the high -speed rail network is pending execution 9,494 million euros. As the president of Seopan, Julián Núñez, remembered this week, “the mobility of goods on roads has won 1.3 points” despite the efforts that are being made to increase their transport via railroad. This highlights the need to bet more and better for intermodality, and not only in Spain but in Europe to be more competitive. «It is very important to have finished the network of priority corridors, cross -border connections or rail connections for equipment mobility throughout the EU, the president of Seopan in the press conference stood out this week to publicize the situation of the sector.
As the road is still predominant, it is urgent to enhance investments to anticipate full electric mobility at 13,674 km of large -capacity interurban network and in 51,948 km of conventional roads of ownership of the State and the autonomous communities with 1,585 electrrolineras and 10,710 Public Access Points of Ultra Fast Speed, According to Sener’s report. They highlight the need to invest 2,083 million in ecological transition actions such as the reduction of emissions in the highway network with resurfacing actions, carbon sinks, light efficiency, noise pollution, etc. and 2,405 million for the digitalization of the high -capacity road network.
César Asensio, director of the Environment and Sustainability in Aecom Spain, is in favor that sustainable mobility has no protagonists and prefers to speak of “a multimodality that allows responding to the needs of the whole society, and that allows the combination of different alternatives and combinations.” However, he acknowledges that the train meets most of the criteria of a sustainable infrastructure, the one that connects all citizens, is accessible, safe and affordable, minimizes the use of non -renewable resources, and limits emissions and noise.
In the case of maritime transport, it should be remembered that Spanish ports already work intensely in the electrification of docks for the supply of electric power to ships whose entry into operation reduces both emissions to the atmosphere and noise, therefore contributing to improving air quality in port cities. «It is a complex process since the electrical power necessary for this type of supply is very high. The objective of state ports is that state -owned ports are prepared to supply electricity to the entrepreneurial and passage ships – of cruises and ferries – by 2030, ”they explain from state ports.
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