TRAIN-CATION

BIZARRE SIGHT: London DLR train cruises down Spanish highway

CARRIAGES from London’s Docklands Light Railway were spotted taking a summer break from ferrying London commuters back and forth.

British motorists returning from the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona were surprised to see the familiar London sight cruising down the A10 to Vitoria.

But the train carriage was in fact heading to its new home after rolling off the manufacturing line at the CAF factory in the Basque country.

Spanish company Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (literally ‘Construction and Other Railway Services’) won a contract to deliver 43 state-of-the-art trains to Transport for London (TfL) in 2019. Four years later, London commuters will soon get to enjoy air conditioning, the latest real-time travel information on internal screens and mobile charging points. They are also designed to accommodate passengers with limited mobility, featuring three dedicated wheelchair spaces and three multi-use areas. These areas can be used to store pushchairs, bicycles or luggage. The UK is currently the biggest customer of

Spanish-built trains with a total of 216 on order across several operators, including Northern, West Midlands Trains and Transport for Wales. Despite Spain’s proud train-building prowess, it was CAF that was at the centre of a recent bungled train order that saw 31 trains designed that were too large for the tunnels they would pass through. The farcical €258 million blunder resulted in two heads rolling - but not at CAF.

State-owned railway company Renfe announced that its rolling stock manager had been fired, while Adif, the organisation which manages railway infrastructure in Spain, said goodbye to its technology inspectorate. The mistake was spotted before any train was constructed but it has delayed the delivery of the project by several years. The trains will now likely arrive in 2026.

THE Conservative opposition Partido Popular (PP) will create a National Water Authority to deal with Spain’s water supply issues for farmers and other sectors should it win the July 23 general election.

The proposal would provide ‘governance, investment, and management’ solutions to water problems right across Spain as the country grapples with the worst drought in decades.

A potential PP government would want a uniform approach to water policy and to do away with local governments coming up with ad hoc initiatives.

Its manifesto also talks about ‘the use of technologies to optimise resources’.

Despite opposition from some environmentalists, the party feels that defending farming and irrigation is a potential vote winner ahead of the snap

Climate goals

THE Spanish government has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 32% of its levels in 1990, after receiving a backlash against the previous target of 23%.

The decision came after pressure from Greenpeace España, which has brought two lawsuits against Madrid demanding a 55% reduction of emissions.

They accused the government of failing to create a national climate strategy for the end of 2030 required by EU law.

The Spanish government countered they are not bound by law to meet a specific reduction percentage and the Ukraine invasion has led to a step back in climate change efforts.

By Alex Trelinski

election.

The PP, led by Alberto Nuñez Feijoo, wants the ‘participation and collaboration’ of the regional governments along with a ‘scientific and social consensus’ to set up the new national body.

It also aims to make the maintenance of irrigation for agriculture compatible with natural areas like the Doñana Natural Park, and those badly affected by farming overexploitation such as the Mar

The

Menor lagoon.

The commitment to irrigated crops is clear with the PP electoral programme: “We will promote a modern and sustainable irrigation, efficient in the use of water and energy, which generates an agriculture of greater added value and capacity to generate employment.”

It also mentions collaboration with the 17 regions and municipalities for a ‘more efficient’ use of water and fertilisers in irrigation and to modernise supply channels to cut water losses in distribution chan-