A coalition of regional business groups has come together to push back against what they see as the Northwest’s marginalization in Spain’s core rail infrastructure planning. The action springs from the Mercancías 30 framework recently introduced by the Ministry of Transport, which outlines the main freight corridors and hub locations. In a morning gathering in León’s capital, representatives from León, led by Luis Javier Cepedano, president of the Leónese Employers Association, joined forces with María Calvo of Asturias and Juan Manuel Vieites of Galicia. Their aim was to secure a formal meeting with minister Raquel Sánchez to press for a more inclusive approach to planning and investment. The leaders stressed that leaving Galicia, Asturias, and León out of the planning would risk diminishing a substantial portion of the country’s economic potential and impair regional connectivity. They argued that regional development should not be sacrificed for a narrow set of hubs that benefit only a few areas.
The Mercancías 30 plan maps Spain’s key nodes to align with Europe’s priority freight corridors. While regions such as León, Asturias, and Galicia are part of the Atlantic Corridor, they are not named as priority nodes in the official list. The document highlights Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid, Zaragoza, Seville, Vitoria, and Valladolid as the central hubs. Cepedano noted that the plan recognizes ongoing activity in other areas but points out that those regions are smaller in scale and capacity, calling for broader and more flexible actions rather than rigid node designation. The Leónese business leaders warned that excluding these areas from intermodal planning jeopardizes access to European funding designed to bolster cross-border rail networks. They argued that European funds should bridge gaps rather than widen them and urged for harmonized regional criteria to guide how funds for rail transport axes are allocated, ensuring fairness across regions. (citation: regional business associations)
Vieites, who leads Galicia’s Confederation of Businessmen, cautioned against becoming a secondary intermodal area and urged the central government to defend the Northwest Corridor with the same resolve as the more prominently referenced Mediterranean axis. He warned that perceiving regional bias could become a legal and political injury that the alliance will not tolerate. Vieites prepared a formal roadmap, which the Asturias, León, and Galicia business groups intend to present to the central government and minister Sánchez. The roadmap outlines concrete steps for regional advancement and calls for a master plan that properly integrates the Northwest with the Atlantic Corridor, along with a government commissioner to coordinate project delivery across European funding schemes. (citation: Galician business leadership)
Calvo from Asturias expressed concern that excluding the Northwest signals regional isolation and could exacerbate issues such as aging and depopulation. Although Galicia and León already have ambitious high-speed rail plans and Asturias anticipated improvements in 2023, Cepedano explained why the Northwest was not included among the priority nodes. The regional business communities have fought for years to avoid being sidelined in the European Union’s transport strategy. Cepedano attributed part of the exclusion to current national political dynamics, suggesting that some governments have shown greater commitment to the Mediterranean corridor. He argued that the political climate has influenced budgeting decisions and urged a more balanced national stance to support the Northwest. (citation: regional economic leaders)