The minister explains that the basic project and the construction of the burial have already been done and that they aspire to have the informative study completed by the end of the year
Neighborhood entities are skeptical of the new announcements and trust that the words do not become “waste paper”
The start of the plays for him burying the train tracks of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona) Still no date. Despite this, the Minister of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda, raquel sanchezgave a press conference this Friday, February 10, at the Torrassa park -next to the tracks- where he has said that “now yes & rdquor;, the Government will materialize the burial of the tracks.
The minister presented the latest “advances” and explained that the basic project and the construction of the burial are already done and? They aspire to have the informative study completed by the end of the year. Thus, once the informative study is finished, it will have to be submitted to public information in order to be able to bid and award the works.
As reported by Sánchez, the completion of the basic project and the construction are usually done once the news has gone ahead, but he explained that it has been done in this way to “anticipate problems, guarantee viability and not have to go back to square one later”.
The minister stressed that the performance will have an estimated budget of a few billion eurosit will suppose bury 5.1 kilometers of tracks of R2 and R4 and build a intermodal station in La Torrassa, that he aspires to help relieve congestion at Sants station, and has reiterated that this is an “absolutely high-priority” action for his ministry.
Despite this, and given the amount of administrative procedures that are still pending to carry out, Sánchez did not want to advance dates for the start of the works to bury the train tracks: “We will not feed the frustration of the citizenry by giving dates that we cannot yet know”. For her part, the mayoress of L’Hospitalet, Nuria Marinhas celebrated the “commitment” of the ministry after years of non-compliance.
neighborhood skepticism
The announcements by Minister Raquel Sánchez have been met with skepticism by the opposition political groups and neighborhood entities, which have been demanding the development of this project for almost 23 years. “I hope it’s not just another photo and that it really is the first step,” declared the president of the Federation of Neighborhood Associations (FAV) of L’Hospitalet, Manuel Pinar, at the same press conference, and who added that the FAV heard the news “quite skeptical& rdquor; after all previous commitments in the last 15 years.
“Madam Minister, many interlocutors have already passed. It’s all been good intentions and commitments that turned into dead paper. We are in solidarity with the residents of Sant Feliu and Montacada, but L’Hospitalet for when?& rdquor ;, has expressed for his part Carmen Morroof the platform L’Hospitalet sense livesestablished 23 years ago.
Morro was referring to the triple fight for the burying of roads that have historically led Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Montcada i Reixac and L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, the last of which is the furthest behind. In fact, this week four temporary unions of companies (UTEs) have submitted to the tender for the Railway infrastructure manager (Adif) for the works of the burying of the R2 in Montcada.
“Both in Sant Feliu and in Montcada, we will gain capacity and quality for Rodalies, but in L’Hospitalet burying is to take a leap in level because it is essential for the Rodalies of the future& rdquor ;, Minister Raquel Sánchez stated.
The opposition groups of the L’Hospitalet City Council have also attended the press conference and have expressed their doubts regarding the Government’s announcements. The former PSC and now mayor of Esquerra Republicana -main opposition party- in L’Hospitalet, Jaume Graellshas stated that “once again, and as the elections draw near, They take us to the minister on duty to once again promise the burial of the tracks”. Graells has considered that the minister’s announcement is “one more scam, three months of the elections and after years of non-compliance, when we know that this is going to last long& rdquor ;.
More than 5 km to bury
The mayoress of L’Hospitalet, Núria Marín, has affirmed that understands the “skeptical feeling of many residents who think they won’t get to see it& rdquor ;. In this sense, he has recognized that, although “never & rdquor; has “thrown in the towel” He also thought that he would not get to see the project carried out. However, he has argued that, “this time, this is serious”. In her intervention, the mayoress highlighted that the train tracks in the second city of Catalonia, “divide and isolate neighborhoods and they generate a problem of internal mobility& rdquor;, due to the scar that they suppose in the urban fabric of the municipality.
Marín has also announced that the consistory will promote a “contest of ideas & rdquor; to define how the 120,000 square meters that will be released with the burial of the tracks will be used.
As the minister has pointed out, this work involves burying 5.1 km of the R2 and R4 and building an intermodal station in La Torrassa. Regarding the seasons, Sánchez has said that the current Bellvitge station will be integrated and, on the other hand, the new intermodal station to be built in La Torrassa “will facilitate the connection between the Vilanova and Vilafranca lines and will connect Rodalies with Metro lines 1 and 9”.
From the ministry they have expressed that this will be one of the “most complex & rdquor; that are undertaken in the region in the coming years, since they will be carried out in a densely built-up environment, with the coexistence of two railway lines, a high density of rail traffic and various infrastructures and services. Thus, as detailed by the Institut Cerdà in a report presented in 2012the plan will allow “increase the frequency of trains by 150% and interconnect the lines of the coast with those of the interior” without the need to get to Sants.
Related news
The urbanization of the space freed up by the covering of the railway will also allow the creation of a “linear garden”, which will give continuity to the roof of the current entrance to Sants“improving the cross-sectional permeability of the neighborhoods of Bellvitge, Gornal, Centre, Sant Josep, Les Planes, La Torrassa and Santa Eulàlia& rdquor ;.
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