One track, one operator

THE FGV railway network has been advised to discard privatisation plans for Alicante’s Line Two

The project is “totally inadvisable,” warned consultants, Improven.

Regional government proposals mean that a public and private operator would share some of the same stretches of track and services. But this could bring coordination problems affecting passengers, predicted the consultants, who were brought in to advise on reorganising the network. 

It was also likely that overheads would rise, they said, and Alicante’s TRAM network already has too few passengers and a huge debt of €341.7 million.

Admitting another company would be unfeasible.

If the Valencian government wants to introduce a private company, it should allow it to run the entire network, Improven concluded.

The future of Line Two between Alicante city and Benidorm does not hang in the balance but the outlook for Line Nine which links Benidorm and Denia is less assured.

Benidorm council has sent the regional government a petition with 1,600 signatures, calling for the line to remain.

The line is an important tourist attraction, the town hall said, with a daily average of 4,800 passengers.