Alliance between seven ERC mayors in Ponent and Central Catalonia to demand that the State move forward with the transversal railway axis, which would connect Lleida with Barcelona by train. The Republican candidates from Mollerussa, Tárrega, Cervera, Lleida, Igualada, Manresa and Martorell -the seven cities that the infrastructure would unite- have staged this common front in an act in Igualada.
The Republican candidate in Igualada, Alba Vergés, has defended that it is a first step to claim an infrastructure that would allow "territorial rebalancing, fight against depopulation and climate change." The infrastructure, according to her, will allow "making life easier" for more than 350,000 people who live in this territory.
The first step is the alliance of the seven municipalities that would unite the infrastructure and, from there, Vergés assures, it will go "as far as necessary" to demand the railway axis. "It is not a promise, it is an essential first step to make it possible. An alliance with municipal leadership", he stressed.
For his part, the mayor of Lleida, Miquel Pueyo, stressed that Lleida is a "strategic" city in terms of railway infrastructure. In this sense, he has defended that the alliance is made up of cities that want to be "benchmarks" in mobility and opportunities. The mayors have also denounced the underfinancing of the State in the Catalan railway structure and have lamented that, for example, it takes exactly the same time from Manresa to Barcelona now as when the track was built.
The ERC mayors and mayors argue that the project will improve the economic progress of the area, since the new railway line will open up new opportunities for goods that can go to both Barcelona and Lleida from Mollerussa, Tàrrega, Cervera and Igualada. And they have added that the new line will inevitably have an impact on the A2, the only route on which goods currently circulate, and will necessarily relieve congestion on the road.
The link between Lleida and Martorell by train would also greatly improve transport times between municipalities, especially for those going to Barcelona. If now from Mollerussa or Tàrrega it takes more than 2 and a half hours to reach the Catalan capital, it is estimated that the time by train could be reduced to an hour and a half. The trips would be more direct, and the mayors and mayors ask that they also be offered more frequently. They see the construction of the line as a "real" alternative to the use of private vehicles, where it is estimated that the speeds that the convoys could take are between 160 km/h and 250 km/h.
Another of the benefits of the transversal railway axis that the mayors and ERC candidates of the territory see is the fact that several medium-sized cities that until now perhaps lived backwards would be quickly connected. In addition, the fact of connecting the cities with "reasonable" and "fast" times should allow medium-distance work and, in turn, this would help fight against depopulation.
