Outrage in the municipalities for the cessation of the train service to Madrid by Archena

The outrage in the municipalities that will be affected by the interruption of the railway line was relevant yesterday. The mayor of Archena, Patricia Fernández, said that the “disappearance of this means of transport is going to be a blow to a town that lives from thermal tourism, since it is proven that many of the people who use the Archena Spa come by train from many points of Spain». For Fernández, “it is a disastrous decision by the Government of Pedro Sánchez that shows the great difference between a municipality that is committed to tourism and the structuring of the territory and a central government that once again attacks a very important sector for our economy.”

The mayor of Hellín, Ramón García, described Renfe’s decision as “unilateral” because, as he indicated, “it has been taken without counting on the municipalities.” According to the councilor from La Mancha, the decision “leaves the municipalities of Hellín and Cieza without rail service.” He said that Renfe’s way of acting is “totalitarian” because “it takes away a service from us without counting on anyone and despite the fact that they guaranteed us that this would never happen.”

THE TRUTH tried to obtain the opinion of the mayor of Cieza, Pascual Lucas, but it was not possible. The PP and Cs groups of this town did speak out. In the mouth of Manuel Egea and Mónica García, «we are facing the death of the railway service in Cieza with a mayor, Pascual Lucas, who has taken a profile with respect to the train and who is silent in the face of the bad decisions for his people of the Government of Pedro Sanchez.”

Cacicada of Adif and Renfe

The members of the Platform for the Hellín Train also spoke. The spokesman for this group, José Antonio Maciá, described Adif and Renfe’s decision as “cacicada”. He said that “they only leave a train that goes directly to Águilas, which does not stop anywhere.” He insisted that if the affected peoples “do not get going, we will end up seeing how this line with more than 150 years of history disappears.” In this regard, he recalled that there are European funds “for electrification and unfolding included in the Investment Plan, whose term ends in 2023.” However, as he indicated, the Region of Murcia and Castilla-La Mancha “have not requested these funds.”

“A shame”

For her part, the spokeswoman for the PP of the Region, Miriam Guardiola, said that “it is a shame that Pedro Sánchez leaves the Region of Murcia without a direct train to Madrid.” According to Guardiola, Sánchez “has already left us without the AVE, without suburban trains and, now also, without a direct connection, making a hellish journey by bus.”