T H E O N LY W E E K LY N E W S PA P E R W I T H C E R T I F I E D D I S T R I B U T I O N I N T E N E R I F E
Issue 710
01 July 2011 - 07 July 2011
www.canarianweekly.com
FREE
It’s all systems go! Spain’s Prime Minister gives a resounding Yes to Tenerife’s new railway THE long-awaited railway linking North and South Tenerife, was finally given the green light on Wednesday by Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. His sure-fire guarantee that the estimated 1.8billioneuro project goes ahead will be heralded throughout the Island as a major coup. The Prime Minister has also pledged that he will give his whole-hearted support for the remainder of his year in office to all the other commitments in the Canary Islands, including the train project for Gran Canaria. His government will meet soon to discuss the signing of agreements for the financing of these major works. As if that weren’t enough, Zapatero also promised that his government would comply with all other commitments to the Canaries, including the tourism drive, the air rate cut, the Canary Water Law, plus employment and investment funds. So, whatever the state of the country and however hard it has been hit by the recession, life WILL go on full steam ahead in Tenerife and the other Canary Islands. And all funds already pledged by the Government will be honoured. Only last week, in an exclusive interview with Canarian Weekly, Ricardo Melchior, President of the Tenerife Cabildo, spoke enthusiastically of the rail project. He told us: “Transportation is a key area because here in Tenerife, there are more cars than people. “Tenerife is working towards a fully-integrated transport system with the
South Train, which could be a reality within approximately five years.” Crucially, he added: “It depends on the prioritisation of the project from the Spanish Government’s perspective. Each year in Santa Cruz there are 15 million tram users, and this has lowered congestion by 8-9% within four years.” Melchior will have been delighted at the Prime Minister’s prompt response, which suggests the railway
could be built a lot sooner than anticipated. The Cabildo has been working hard to promote the North-South railway, which will provide a rapid link between both airports. Earlier this year, a mobile booth travelled around the Island supplying all the answers to questions from interested residents about the “light rail” installation, which will run between Santa Cruz and Costa Adeje. The Cabildo believes that
apart from providing a vital, much-needed transport service, it will give the tourism sector an enormous boost because both Islanders and holiday-makers alike will want to experience the thrill of travelling on the new trains. Powered by 100% renewable energy, they will each hold 450 passengers and should carry up to 30,000 passengers a day between Santa Cruz and Costa Adeje. There will be seven stops
along the route, with an additional stop at the port of Fonsalia, in Guia de Isora. The stations will be located at Santa Cruz, Añaza, Candelaria, San Isidro, Tenerife South Airport, Los Cristianos and Las Americas, with services running every 15 minutes at speeds of up to 220kph. The trains will come from Reina Sofia Airport to a small stop in Las Chafiras (they are not yet sure where). There will then be a major stop in
Los Cristianos and on to the final stop in the municipality of Adeje. A vast amount of the train journey will be underground in fact, some 40 metres under the ground - tunnelling through the Guaza mountain and running under sections of both Arona and Adeje. The entire journey, from Santa Cruz to Adeje will take just 39 minutes, which will almost certainly cut down on the daily TF1 traffic, especially during the rush-hours.