5.500 million peseta Inca to Manacor rail project up for tender

The Balearic government yesterday put the contract for constructing the new Inca to Manacor railway line up for tender. The project has a budget of 5.500 million pesetas and will involve the laying of 30.2 kilometres of new track. The new rail link will be a single track service and special material will be used in order to reduce noise and vibrations through residential areas, while also being easier to maintain. The link will run through the municipalities of Inca, Sineu, Petra and finally Manacor. However, there is still, one stumbling block for the Majorca Railway Company to overcome and that is how the link will run through Petra. The initial proposal has been rejected by local residents. Residents do not want the train to run through the old town, but the town is divided about the noise the train will make. The Mayor of Petra, Joan Font, has said that two alternatives are being studied by the local community, one involves taking the track away from the town and another sinking some 400 metres of rail under ground.