The mayor of Calaspard now asks for a commuter train with Hellín “so that the Northwest is not isolated by rail”
The construction works of the greenway of flowering have already begun, which entails the dismantling of about eleven kilometers of the old railway in the municipality of Cieza. This fact definitively strangles the aspiration of the residents of Calasparra and the entire Northwest to reconnect by train with Murcia and Madrid after the Camarillas variant began to operate in March 2019, leaving the Calasparreña station without train service. .
However, this withdrawal from the tracks has led the mayor of Calasparra, Teresa García, to “take other paths”, and to do so, two weeks ago she met with the mayor of Hellín, also a socialist Ramón García, “to work jointly for the launch of a commuter train that connects Calasparra with Hellín, and from there, that the citizens of the Northwest can travel to Murcia or Madrid by train ».
«I do not like that the rails are being removed, and I have made it known to the Mayor of Cieza, Pascual Lucas, with whom I have only spoken once about this matter». “For this reason – he said – I want to explore other alternative ways so that we do not remain isolated”. Meanwhile, for the opposition parties in Calasparra, the dismantling has been described as “a betrayal by José Vélez of his people with the approval of the current mayor,” said Alonso Torrente, councilor of the independent group Calasparra Viva, who described the Teresa García’s idea of launching a commuter train through Hellín as “an occurrence of farce, made without meaning and thinking only of the elections that are approaching.”
The 11 kilometers of the old railway line will now be enabled as a scenic route
Regarding the withdrawal of the tracks, Torrente indicated that it is “a maneuver carried out with the secrecy of those who do not do good, raising several kilometers of railway track in good condition, which linked Calasparra and Cieza, and which will be taken to other places where they do believe in public transportation.” He also stressed that both Vélez and García “publicly promised that this would never happen, but the evidence soon betrays rogue politicians who value their seats more than defending the public interests of the citizens they represent.”
Machinery next to one of the old stations of the line. /
Vélez blames the Community
The Government delegate and former mayor of Calasparra, José Vélez, reiterated his words from two weeks ago and pointed out that the Autonomous Community “has been pressing to build a greenway on that section.” Once the dismantling has been confirmed, “I deeply regret the decision and the lost opportunity to create a commuter route from the Northwest to Cieza and from there be able to link to Cartagena and Madrid, but it is the regional government that has to answer to the citizens why it has sacrificed the general interest, demanding that Adif lift the tracks in exchange for 900,000 euros, which is the amount of the subsidy from the Feder funds with which they intend to build the greenway.
In addition to the removal of the tracks, these works include the conditioning of the pavement, a passage over the Galán ravine, drainage systems, signage, wooden protections, reception and rest areas, planting of fifty native trees and conditioning of railway elements.
According to the Autonomous Community, this new infrastructure will make it possible to connect with the Vía Verde del Chicharra, the Camino de la Vera Cruz de Caravaca and, later, with the Vía Verde del Noroeste, thereby reinforcing the regional network of paths and greenways and serving to promote sustainable mobility and ecotourism.
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