The Northwest is getting more and more lonely. If it was Cantabria at first that left the Northwest Atlantic Platform and threw itself into the arms of the Basque Country to defend its inclusion in the Cantabrian-Mediterranean Axis between Bilbao and Valencia, now they are Zaragoza Y Madrid ministers France and to the MediterraneanSearching alliances that can further isolate if possible, Galicia, Asturias Y Lion. The Aragonese capital has garnered support to become one of the main rail logistics nodes on the peninsula, encouraging the reopening of the Zaragoza-Pau line via Canfranc, while Madrid is committed to a new Paris-Madrid-Lisbon axis and a high-speed line. From Valencia to the capital of Portugal. Meanwhile the Northwest seems lost political and trade wars.
Zaragoza has established the European Alliance for the Development of Railway Corridors (corredores.eu). In theory, it seeks “co-supporters” throughout Spain “for the development of railway corridors and Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T) for the configuration of the Iberian Peninsula and its connections with the rest” (2,000 euros fee). Europe”. In practice, the main aim of this initiative is to Open a “new central cross-border corridor through the Pyrenees”.
The main argument for this new “lobby” is that Italy shares seven cross-border rail links (with France, Switzerland and Austria) while France and Spain only share two: transits through the Basque Country and Catalonia, both links “relegated” “. to the background Priority of passenger lines and difficulties of line spacing“, he emphasizes.
“Iberian Peninsula Worst connected European region railway with the center of Europe“Our ports have a competitive disadvantage compared to other ports in the Mediterranean,” the group said, and has already been presented at various transport and logistics conferences in Portugal, France and Spain, such as Madrid’s Dry Port. Algeciras, Córdoba and Zaragoza As a result of this study, Ports of Sines, Valencia, Algeciras, Europorte and Niort are already with corredores.eu.
According to this ‘lobby’, Spain does not have a rail transport network that can compete with the road.. In fact, the train carries only 3.8 percent of goods in Spain, so it is “helpful to increase carrying capacity, improve operations, and therefore the rail freight network in the Iberian Peninsula is more competitive”.
To this end, this railway alliance supports “the execution of corridors of the core network of TEN-T and the development of railway and communication infrastructure”. Another point of influence is that the ports of Spain and Portugal “need this alliance of multi-sectoral organizations”, because half of the goods transported by rail have their origin or destination. The idea is to “value and apply rail freight corridors. connecting major ports, airports and logistics centers The part of the Iberian Peninsula from south to central and northern Europe”.
Meanwhile, what’s going on in Madrid, where the Atlantic and Mediterranean corridors meet? That the head of this autonomous community, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, initiated the plan to create a new axis between Paris, Madrid and Lisbon. Among the many projects announced, one stands out above all, a high-speed line between Valencia and the Portuguese capital. Ayuso defended this project at a meeting with businessmen a few days ago. “a true Iberian union”.
Díaz Ayuso is therefore determined to connect the Mediterranean and Atlantic corridors, with Madrid as the central node. The Madrid president is seeking support to pressure the government of Pedro Sánchez to prioritize this link over the link that will connect Galicia and Portugal. The first step in the search for the new Paris-Madrid-Lisbon axis was taken on 14 November with Díaz Ayuso.
The situation has advanced considerably. The region, which includes the Community of Madrid and the metropolitan area of Paris, known as the Isle of France, signed the agreement on 14 November. Isabel Díaz Ayuso, president of the regional council of the Isle of France (metropolitan area of the French capital), and Valérie Pécresse, signed an agreement of “understanding”. to jointly promote projects in different fields such as environmentinnovation, scientific collaboration or transportation. The goal now is to sign a similar protocol with Lisbon in the coming months. Contacts have already begun.
The main obstacle for the Madrid president is that he has stated several times that the “absolute priority” of the Portuguese government is the Porto-Vigo axis. This is not the only obstacle. As the Community of Valencia already has high-speed trains (passenger only) from the three provincial capitals to Madrid, its efforts are making significant advances along the Mediterranean Corridor and the Cantabrian-Mediterranean axis. Valencian businessmen, however, would not look badly on a new commodity axis to Lisbon.