- The government delegate in Cantabria has highlighted the “firm commitment” of the Government of Spain to Cantabria and to the suppression of steps at the level
- The actions in Renedo have an investment of more than 22 million euros, of which 18 million, 80%, is financed by ADIF
The government delegate in Cantabria, Pedro Casares, has praised the start of the works that will transform the town of Renedo de Piélagos with the elimination of the steps at the level of the urban center by the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, through ADIF.
Casares highlighted the “firm commitment of the Government of Spain to Cantabria” and the suppression of steps at the level of the autonomous community. “The suppression of level crossings is a 360º change for neighbors because it improves their safety and also their quality of life,” he said.
“We know that each elimination represents a decisive advance in railway safety and urban permeability,” said the State representative in Cantabria, who has highlighted the beginning of the work to materialize the “important action” in Renedo de Piélagos.
“Such important works have not been done in Renedo and Piélagos in the last 50 years, because the elimination of these two steps at the level not only improves mobility and road safety but also allows the integration of the urban center,” said Casares.
For the government delegate, “this investment of more than 18 million euros in Piélagos by ADIF shows once again that the infrastructure projects in Cantabria only advance with the government of Pedro Sánchez”.
“We talk about a historical claim of the residents of Piélagos that has only materialized with this Government of Spain, however much some want to make it invisible,” he emphasized.
WORK INCLUDED IN THE AGREEMENT
This is what Casares said this Wednesday, a day in which the execution of the works of the ADIF agreement with the Government of Cantabria and the City Council of Piélagos begins and whose objective is to eliminate the crossings at level in Renedo, located at kilometric points 494+380 and 494+830 of the C-1 proximity line between Torrelavega and Santander.
Specifically, Casares has detailed that the actions that ADIF will execute consist of the construction of two lower pedestrian steps in the p.k. 494/380 and 494/830, and also the extension of the lower passage of the P.K. 464/200 to improve connectivity.
The government delegate has indicated that these works represent a direct investment of ADIF of 18 million euros, 80% of the overall cost of the agreement of 22.04 million euros (without VAT). For its part, the Government of Cantabria assumes the execution of the variant of the CA-233 and other improvements, with more than 3.2 million euros, and the City of Piélagos contributes 770,000 euros for the financing of the variant.
In addition, the convention includes functional improvements to ensure permeability, such as increasing the width of the viaduct for cyclists and pedestrians and adapting the gauze for vehicles with reduced gauze.
Casares recalled that this agreement between ADIF, the Autonomous Government and the City of Piélagos has been extended until June 30, 2027, incorporating funding annuities for 2025, 2026 and 2027, which will allow to execute all the planned actions.
“This project is not isolated. It is part of ADIF’s global strategy to modernise the network and eliminate risk points, strengthening confidence in rail transport and contributing to the sustainable development of our cities. Every step at the level that we eliminate is an investment in security, mobility and quality of life,” said the delegate.
In Cantabria, he pointed out that this “effort” is materializing within the Commuter Plan, with an investment of 1.5 billion euros to renew the different subsystems of the three commuter lines, which in their 170 kilometers have more than 65 stations, service 24 municipalities covering more than 400,000 inhabitants, with about 230 trains daily and with more than five million travelers a year.