Estimated 50.000 m2 more expropriations (land / property reclamations) needed for the Manacor-Artà train project.

Over 12% land consumption and 48 more affected properties to construct the railway, service roads, electricity transformers and car parking.

According to the BOIB published 14 July 2009 the Consejería de Movilidad y Ordenación del Territorio needs 50,000 square metres more than previously estimated to carry out the re-opening of the Manacor-Artà railway.

In total to carry out Manacor-Artà railway project they now need 458,441 square metres, not counting the temporary space occupation, almost 50.000 m2 more than the publicly announced figures of the BOIB on 30 November 2008.

Sant Llorenç (San Lorenzo) is the most affected area. According to the BOIB 2009 they need 149,940 square metres, in the BOIB 2008 it was 123,270. Therefore, now in Sant Llorenç they need 26,000 square metres more so that the train can pass through the town. In Sant Llorenç there are to be 34 newly affected properties.

Son Servera is the next most affected area in this new estimate. They now need some 20,000 square metres more. In total they need 106,973 square metres, whereas according to the BOIB of 30 November 2008 they needed 86,961. In Son Servera there will be 13 more properties affected.

Manacor is the second area with more square metres to expropriate after Sant Llorenç. They now need to reclaim 110,382 square metres which isn’t much different to the previously estimated 109,697 square metres. However, remember that in Manacor they still have to announce the expropriations necessary to connect the train from the Plaza Madrid, where the new station will be, to the old station to link it to Palma. This is a 3-kilometre stretch. The number of affected properties stays the same.

The difference in square metres in Artà is about 2,573, and now there are 91,146 square metres to expropriate. In November 2008 it was 88,573. In Artà there are 11 newly affected properties.

People who objected at the time do not know what has happened to these objections, nor what criteria have been followed to change the land expropriations. The list of affected, 30 November, haven’t received any answers from the Consejería de movilidad about these objections.

The details of expropriations can be consulted within 15 working days from the publication of the BOIB, 14 July, to see if more objections are needed. Counting Saturday as a working day, it´s not possible for staff of the SFM (Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca) or of the councils to go to consult the project.

Anti-Train Association recently published a summary of the environmental impact which concluded that the project is a permanent, irreversible and non-recoverable impact (http://alternativaaltren.blogspot.com/2009/07/la-vuelta-del-tren-manacor-arta-causara.html). Now we will have to review this report to include the extra 50,000 square metres they now need, to see what repercussions this will have on the environment, the economy and society. Also we need to know what criteria they have followed in accepting or rejecting our objections and how they justify that the project will now consume 50,000 square metros of land more in the Llevant region of Mallorca, which is a 12,24% increase on the original forecast.


This information contradicts what was said in the El Mundo newspaper in November 2008 when they explained that the figures would be reduced once the plans were more advanced (http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2008/10/30/baleares/1225407478.html).

NOTE: if anyone detects any small errors in the figures we would appreciate if you point them out to us at (alternativaaltren@gmail.com)