Railway will reopen when when safety is assured

BALEARIC Minister for Public Works, Mabel Cabrer, gave assurances yesterday that works being undertaken on the Inca to Manacor train line are going “at the same pace, if not faster” than equivalent improvements being carried out on roadways. Cabrer was adamant that as both road and rail transport remain as “great concerns” to her, the line will not open until the remedial works have met all possible security requirements. The line was closed earlier this year when a retaining wall collapsed onto the track causing a train from Manacor to derail near Petra. The accident resulted in 13 people being taken to hospital. In the belief that some areas of the line are not affected by remedial works, the minister is under pressure from several groups to open the section of track from Inca to Sineu, the stop prior to Petra on the journey from Inca. Cabrer pointed out that a recent visit made with newspaper reporters to the affected area of track, afforded an opportunity to see that there were still issues to be addressed, not only in the immediate vicinity of the accident, but at various other points, including some between Inca and Sineu. She claimed that even members of the pro-train lobby, recognised that the workmanship could be described as nothing less than “shoddy”. The minister insisted that three external consultants contracted by the government had affirmed the line is not as yet in a condition to reopen. She made it clear, however, that the works are making “good progress”, as indeed, were a separate set of improvement works on the Islands' roadways. This last retort alluded to critics who had suggested that work on the railways was not making the same headway as Cabrer's highway projects. She drove her point home by reiterating that her ministry treats the reopening of the railway line with the same rigorous concern as that with which it viewed other projects. Taking into consideration the fact that the remedial works on the Inca to Manacor railway are keeping up a good pace, she furthered the possibility that the Inca to Sineu section could open before the summer and that the final stretch to Manacor would return to ferrying fare-paying passengers at a later date, yet to be announced. “We would very much like the railway to open at the earliest possible time”, confirmed Cabrer.