The former Palma mayor Antoni Noguera, who is the coordinator for Més (which essentially means that he is the leader of the party), is said to have had informal communication with the transport minister, Marc Pons of PSOE, about the scheme to extend the Metro to Son Espases Hospital. Més don't believe that this is a priority. They further believe that the cost of the extension will be almost double the 32 million euros that the government has calculated. Noguera has stated that the extension is unnecessary and isn't feasible on technical grounds; not at the cost that the government has come up with.
Més argue that the Son Espases extension will principally only be of benefit to people who live in the vicinity of the Metro and not to the rest of Palma. The public will use the bus instead. Last year, Palma EMT bus services to Son Espases had a million passengers. The extension, Més estimate, will carry no more than 300,000 passengers a year. Ministry forecasts are for some two million passengers.
Of much greater priority are the tram from the centre of Palma to the airport and the reactivation of the Manacor-Arta railway. Resources for the Son Espases extension should therefore be targeted at these two projects instead. Més calculations are that the Manacor-Arta line will cost around 90 million euros. The party feels that this investment has greater justification as it will revive and complete work that started during the PSOE-led administration from 2007 to 2011.
Ideally, where Més are concerned, the first extension of the Metro - to the ParcBit technology park - should be shelved. But as it has been included in the 2020 budget, the party accepts that the work will be undertaken.
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This is wonderful news for all the people living in the Urbanisations from Manacor to Arta. The tracks have been set out. The Stations built. The need for train travel to the North of the Island a priority for residents and Tourists. Please start this construction NOW !!!.
The airport connection has got to be the main priority. Hospitals don't usually have their own train station but almost all International airports do.