The sub-delegate of the Spanish Government in Almería, José María Martín, has visited the works that the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, through the public entity Tragsa, is carrying out on the old Guadix-Almendricos railway line to convert it into a greenway linking the municipalities of Fines, Cantoria and Arboleas. Martín has toured the part of the route linking the municipalities of Arboleas and Cantoria, accompanied by the Andalusian MP Juan Antonio Lorenzo and the mayors of both towns, Cristóbal García and Purificación Sánchez, respectively.
The section, which is almost 21 kilometres long, is located between the old Fines-Olula station and the vicinity of the old Arboleas halt, near the junction of the old railway platform with the AL-7104 road.
The Government has budgeted 1.8 million euros for this project, which will enable the old railway line to be recovered and given a new lease of life by converting it into a greenway.
«This type of project is very important for inland villages, because it helps to promote alternative, environmentally friendly tourism throughout the year,» says José María Martín, who stresses the importance that the Spanish government attaches to actions to tackle the demographic challenge.
The works consist of the conditioning of the land, with the cleaning of ditches and the placement of concrete downpipes and slabs at the water crossings, the installation of fixed and removable metal and wooden milestones, the installation of new signs along the entire route and the conditioning of the bridges distributed along the route, with the placement of wooden decking and protective metal railings, among other works. This work is scheduled to be completed by spring 2023.
For the time being, all the paths have already been cleared and all the gravel has been spread, bollards, railings and wooden platforms have been installed and four of the bridges along the Fines-Cantoria-Arboleas route have been repaired.