The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has already mobilized, through Adif and Renfe, more than 933 million euros from the Proximity Plan of Cantabria, which represents 70% of the total budget committed by the Government of Spain, amounting to 1,341 million, more than double that initially foreseen by the former Executive of the PP (530 million).
Specifically, of the 933 million euros mobilized, 477 million - 51% - correspond to actions already executed or in execution and 456 million to projects that are being drafted or whose works are close to being tendered.
This was announced today by the delegate of the Government in Cantabria, Eugenia Gómez de Diego, who, together with the Commissioner, Antonio Berrios, and the delegate of Institutional Relations of Renfe for Cantabria, Vicente Santamaría, has supervised the state of execution of some of the works in progress.
In a statement, to which the Delegation of the Government has attached a detailed report of the state of implementation of the Proximity Plan, Gómez de Diego has pointed out that "the Government of Spain is fulfilling the commitments made with Cantabria" and has assured that "the investment effort that it is carrying out will undoubtedly result in a notable improvement of the service".
The government delegate in Cantabria has stressed that the investment in Neighbourhoods that the Ministry and Adif and Renfe are making in the region is "the greatest in its history", and has guaranteed that the department led by Óscar Puente "will continue with the investments planned so that Cantabria has a modern, safe and reliable railway network, and in the meantime will continue with the gratuitousness of the service".
The executive report of the Proximity Plan for the first time a schedule of all actions, with short-, medium- and long-term planning and economic forecasting. "This is the first time that Cantabria has had such a detailed, exhaustive and ambitious action plan," said the delegate.
The current Local Government Plan exceeds the 1,341 million expected investment compared to the 530 million that had been appropriated by the previous PP Government for Cantabria. "The 477 million that are already launched by the Ministry, are close to reaching the total investment that the previous Executive had planned," he said.
Short-term milestones
As for the main milestones to be reached in the short term (horizon 2024-2025), Commissioner Antonio Berrios has indicated the completion of the works of duplication of the track between Santander and Muriedas, the commissioning of the new Nueva Montaña roadblock or the completion of the auxiliary track of Torrelavega.
Likewise, he referred to the tenders for the construction of the new railway services building in Santander, which "will allow visualization of the integration project", or the goods bypass, which "will link the C2 and C3 line allowing the freight trains to establish the continuity of their route, from Asturias to the Basque Country, without harming the traffic of vicinity and half distance in the station of Santander". Both projects add more than 40 million investments.
Investment detail
Work has already been completed for 31 million of the 46.95 planned, and the five defined projects are under implementation, with an investment of 77.45 million.
As for the development of the network, which includes track duplications and the construction of a freight bypass in Santander, works worth 120.3 million are being executed and two other projects worth 59.5 million are in the process of being drafted. In this way, Adif has mobilized 179.8 of the expected 191.8 million.
On the electrification improvements, 2.66 million works have been executed, the new substation of Requejada is under execution with an investment of 3.75 million and another fourth performance worth 14 million is in the process of contracting. In this section, the total estimated investment amounts to 56 million.
All these areas of action add up to 372.33 million expected investment, of which 249.1 million -66.92% - are executed, in execution or in an advanced administrative processing process.
Precisely, Gómez de Diego has emphasized these actions, since "they are the elements of the railway system that, together with the rolling stock - which is already in manufacture - have a greater impact on the reliability of the service provided".
"This area of action, which depends exclusively on Adif, is the most advanced and the one that will have the most impact on the improvement of the service. It will result in a more modern and stable infrastructure, which will require less maintenance and will allow to increase the reliability and safety parameters, as well as the speed of circulation, with the consequent benefit for rail traffic and users," he said.
Urban integrations, level steps and stations
The Proximity Plan designed by the Government has also planned to intervene in 38 steps at the level, of which 23 will be eliminated and in the remaining 15 there will be an improvement of the facilities and the protection system. The corresponding investment is 30 million and the Government of Cantabria cofinances 50% of the actions in six of them through the corresponding agreements with Adif. We are currently working on two projects: Alfoz de Lloredo and Camargo; in six we have the project approved, one is in the process of contracting works and another ten are drafting the projects.
In the urban integrations, Gómez de Diego explained that "the most advanced is that of Torrelavega, where the auxiliary road is already being executed that will allow the continuity of the railway service during the years that will involve the execution phase of the works of the underground railway route, the new station and the parking".
In the case of Santander, the project has recently been reactivated after being suspended during the last term due to the lack of agreement in the local government, the delegate recalled. "The goal is for it to be up to date and fully defined before the end of this year," he said.
Finally, the Cerca stations are being equipped with new information systems for the traveler and at the same time their furniture and equipment are being renovated. Adjustments and alterations of platforms will also be carried out, a painting and carpentry plan will be established and commercial signage will be renewed, all with a budget of 21 million euros, of which 7 are currently in execution and 13.47 in the contracting process.
More than 5 million travelers
In this balance sheet, the delegate also wanted to highlight the "strong increase" in passengers transported by RENFE, which exceeded 5.2 million in 2023. "Both the Ministry and ADIF know that they have to restore the trust deposited by the travelers and are working hard for it," said Gómez de Diego, who has valued "effort in terms of personnel and economic" that these departments are carrying out to comply with Cantabria.
"On the horizon of 2026-2027 the infrastructure of the network of Neighbourhoods of Cantabria and its more than 150 kilometers of track, will be completely renovated and with new trains circulating. We are in a process of transformation and the change will be remarkable. All this investment effort that he is carrying out will provide us with a modern, reliable and safe commuter network," he said.
However, it has stressed that it will not be necessary to wait until the entire plan has been implemented in order to receive improvements. In fact, improvements have already begun to be noticed, such as the reduction of travel times on the line connecting Santander and El Astillero/Liérganes in 5 minutes.
Agreements fulfilleds
With the delivery of the calendar of the most important actions of the Plan for the coming years, the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has fulfilled six of the seven agreements contemplated in the agreement signed on February 20, 2023 with the autonomous governments of Cantabria and Asturias.
Specifically, they are fulfilled: the delivery of the document of the proximity plan together with the creation of the Commissioner (March 29, 2023); the integration of tariffs of the center of proximity of Cantabria, of the conventional network and metric width (July 17, 2023); the gratuitousness of the proximity for the year 2024; the manufacture of the new trains of metric width has begun (February 26) and the result of the audit of the contract of purchase of the trains of metric width has been published (March 13).