The Anti Train Association - Xarxa de Mobilitat del Llevant - has organised a meeting for the “Transport without Trains” campaign on Monday 20th at 19.30 hours in Manacor station. During this meeting we shall be looking for ways to add public pressure and to highlight the inefficiencies of the planned transport projects.
The Anti Train Association’s principal object is to raise awareness to the population of the Llevante region in order to create an efficient public transport system that can be used by all of the population areas of the said region. A train / tram could only travel at around 30km/h around the urban district of Manacor and would make difficult the transport for people from different population centres in the Llevante region to Inca or Palma. The Anti Train Association does not agree with some of the proposed solutions like putting buses from Plaza Madrid to the train station, or making the train travel the outskirts of Manacor. Both these ideas, like the idea of the train / tram, would make the public transport route to Palma impossible simply because it would take too long, This would make using public transport unviable for people needing to travel from the Llevante areas to Palma every day for work or study.
The train / tram in Manacor is a public service for the people of Manacor that lacks global vision for the for the real transport needs of the city.
The tram that the Manacor Council proposes will not really be a public service for the people of Manacor because it won’t connect all areas and, therefore, lacks a global vision of the transport needs of the population Manacor. The proposal is an erroneous solution to the problem of connecting two different types of train, the electric tram in the Llevante areas and the diesel train to Palma.
In addition neither the Government nor the City council have presented / displayed a mobility study to analyse the effects of the passage of this train / tram to the other types of transport in and around Manacor. Neither have they presented any type of project or plans on how it will affect the flow of traffic and pedestrian or bicycle access on the Paseo del Ferrocarril or the surrounding areas. In addition, there is no study or project on how the passage of the train / tram would affect public areas (land) or the consequences thereof.
The Anti Train Association considers the train to Artà, as well as the tram between the two stations of Manacor, to be deficient projects founded without proper research or foundation and demand that it provides public access and opinion to the mobility studies on which they are based. We also demand a comparison of possible alternatives like a bus network for all areas of the Llevant region, that connect with a joint station in Manacor and the construction of a dual carriageway to Inca to increase speed and flexibility. In this way public transport coverage of all 20 population areas of the Llevant could be attained (over 200 stops) rather than just the 4 stations provided by the train route. Only in this way can we make it worth using an efficient public transport system around the Llevant region rather than using the car.
We propose a study on the upgrading Manacor station to accept buses and of upgrading to a dual carriageway Manacor-Inca to increase speed, safety and flexibility.
The Anti Train Association proposes an alternative public transport system to the train considering that the government plans for the train project do not fulfil the expectations of a public transport system for everyone. In addition, by dividing the urban area of Manacor, this project destroys the rural territory that it divides because it will not be sufficient to build only on existing lines or routes but will also need 33km of track plus access and fencing.
The regions of the Llevante are dispersed and have low population densities. Trains are fine for moving large numbers of passengers but not for running half full considering the amount of energy needed to move them. A train running half full uses much more fuel per passenger than any other type of transport.
The Anti Train Association believes that the train / tram for Manacor and Artà project has many unsolved flaws and that some of the 19th century ideas of this project are intolerable for a 21st century society. The association members have not had access to information on the study of the transport needs of the people of the Llevant region to justify this pharaonic project.
The Balearic Railway Transport Plan indicates that the Llevant line is the least viable of the railroads that it wants to re-open or create, and only becomes viable if it doesn’t end at Artà but continues to Cala Ratjada. If it were to continue to Cala Ratjada it would negate the justification of this line, being not to create but to re-open, because a railway between Artà and Cala Ratjada doesn’t, and never did, exist.
The Spanish Strategic Plan of Infrastructures and Transports (PEIT) of the Ministry of Public Works and Economy does not recommend the development of railway in the Balearic islands but indicates explicitly that because it is a fragile territory there must be thorough analysis on how to provide the best method of public transport that complies with all of the different social needs.
For more information you can consult the Association’s web-page (http://alternativaaltren.blogspot.com), write to alternativaaltren@gmail.com or contact the president of the association, Claudia Gelabert (+34630173791)
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