Galicia falls outside the government-designed railroad map. It is a network of corridors to be adapted so that trains capable of carrying entire trucks or semi-trailers can travel between them. The goal is to drive this traffic off the roads. Currently, the railway carries only 4 percent of the goods and it is aimed to increase this quota to 10 percent. However, the Ministry of Transport has left out the Atlantic Corridor, although it is part of the EU’s main network. He argues that they only include these axes in their railroad maps. “identified as priority and with the greatest potential”although it leaves the door to the inclusion of other additional corridors “if there is an interest in the implementation of these services”. Xunta and the businessmen showed their dismay at what they described as a “new grievance” to the Galician community.
Galicia already had to fight for inclusion Core network of rail freight corridors in the EU With access to preferential finance. And in 2018 he achieved that. Despite this recognition, four years later, the Ministry of Transport does not consider this in the preparation of the Mercancías 30 initiative, which aims to promote rail freight transport.
Corridors to be transformed to be railroads they total nine, excluding the Northwest entirely.
Connection with Portugal
In fact, the freight connection with Portugal is planned via a line from Madrid to Medina del Campo to Fuentes de Oñoro. Salamanca.
“This is a new crime”, regret Infrastructure Department. Xunta claims to seek clarification from the Government. Keep in mind that the Atlantic Corridor, which is actually vital to strengthen Galicia’s “competitiveness”, still does not have a Master Plan today and a commissioner has not been created as in the Mediterranean Corridor.
It also warns that Portuguese government prioritizes connections with Spain via GaliciaThis is “against” the Government’s intention to articulate a rail road through Salamanca.
It also initiates the same site president. Confederation of Employers of Pontevedra, Jorge CebreirosThose who doubt that other corridors may be included in the rail highway network in the future, as indicated by Transport. “If Salamanca is now chosen to deliver goods to Portugal, I don’t think investment will be made in the parallel León-Galicia corridor in a few years,” Cebreiros asks. According to him, the Government supports communities such as the Basque Country, Catalonia or the Commonwealth of Valencia and excludes not only Galicia, but also Asturias and Castilla y León.
The president of the Pontevedra employers association also said that if the Atlantic Corridor is not strengthened in Galicia, which is also in an environmental situation, only transport goods by road but Government plans to charge toll to circulate among them, aggravating the situation and causing it to lose its competitiveness.
BNG will receive Congress This “new discrimination” that Galicia was subjected to had “serious consequences” for its business fabric and economy.