Spain’s Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (Mitma) has launched a public information process of a Royal Decree regulating a direct granting of a subsidy for the first development phase of Palma light rail system.
The ministry intends to allocate a EUR 185 million investment for the construction of a tram line between Palma de Mallorca Airport and Plaza de España, an intermodal transport hub providing bus and rail transport connections.
The subsidy would be provided to the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands and will be financed from Mitma’s expenditure budget as part of a General Action Protocol between the Ministry and the Autonomous Community signed in November 2022. The agreement establishes the general framework of action to articulate the collaboration between the two parties concerning the construction of the tramway system.
The Government of the Balearic Islands is committed to improve the mobility in the island and has drawn up a Sectoral Mobility Master Plan, whose final objectives are to guarantee accessibility to public transport inthe entire territory, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated by transport, to reduce accidents and minimise energy consumption.
The Master Plan proposes the development of Palma light rail system comprising three lines including the Plaza de España – Can Pastilla – Airport (section I), Can Pastilla – s’Arenal (section II) and Plaza de España – Son Espases Hospital (section III) routes.
The construction of these tram routes will be carried out successively beginning with the first double track section with a length of 10.9 km. The route will be served by 16 stops and will provide transport connections between the neighborhoods of Foners, Nou Llevant, El Molinar, Ciutat Jardí, Coll d’en Rabassa and Can Pastilla, and the airport. This section will connect 20 public spaces along its alignment including education and health centres and municipal markets as well as other important sports for both citizens and visitors. According to the Government of Balearic Islands, the state budget includes a EUR 20 million financing for this year to support the launch of the tenders for the first section.
In January 2023, the Government of the Balearic Islands announced the completion of the period of public exhibition process for the first section of the tramway system for which 61 allegations have been submitted on the design and its integration with the existing active mobility system. The authorities are satisfied that the allegations are not questioning the need for the new transport system.
Beyond the infrastructure construction project, both the Government and Palma City Council are working on parallel studies to analyse the impact of this new infrastructure on traffic.
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