Memo Canfranc EU Bruxelles 25.01.2012
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Association Loi 1901 Siège social : Apt 21 - 23, Av. Montilleul 64000 PAU Adresse postale: chez François Rebillard 13, rue de l'Église 64400 LEDEUIX Secrétariat : 05.59.39.71.98 Site internet: http://creloc.intermodalite.com January 3rd, 2012, Economic advantages of the Canfranc railway line Fully re-opening the Canfranc line would mean re-activating economic links between Aquitaine and Aragon. Both these provinces have traded since times immemorial, to the extent that Oloron Sainte-Marie was deemed the “Jaca of the North” and Aragon, Southern Béarn. Nowadays, because of the depletion of railway infrastructures through the Pyrenees, rail traffic transits by both ends of the mountain range, West through Hendaye and Irún and East by Cerbère and Port-Bou. However, only two percent of Franco- Spanish freight transits by rail, with road and sea transport holding an equal lion’s share, due to the absence of major constraints in the social and environmental fields. To achieve a better balance of rail links between France and Spain and to enable rail transport to recapture a larger market share of transportation between both countries, reopening the Canfranc line carries undeniable economic advantages 1 – Passenger traffic: work & tourism. • local relations: the purpose would be to serve the entire Aspe valley ( 50 km between Oloron Sainte-Marie and the border ), enabling the local inhabitants to get easy access to the employment areas of Oloron Sainte-Marie (Lindt chocolates, Safran aeronautics...) and Pau (Total chemistry, Euralis agri- business, hospital, military, university...). The Aspe valley is served by one single road, RN 134, and the ca. 300 trucks that use it daily from Monday to Friday generate significant traffic problems. A bypass has recently been built around Bedous, but the Gurmençon, Asap-Arros, Eygun and Urdos bypasses are still remaining at building project status and the French State appears reluctant to finance them. At a local level, the potential for tourism is in particular based on: - Oloron Sainte-Marie: a city of art and history - Portalet fort: a 19th century military building currently undergoing full restoration prior to being opened to the public - Long-distance hiking trail N°10 which crosses the Pyrenees from East to West - Saint-Jacques de Compostelle trail (by way ofArles) - the Lescun moutaineering sites, in the Pyrenees National Park - the Somport Nordic skiing resort - the skiing resorts of Astún and Candanchú - Los Riglos, the Mecca of rock-climbing - Jaca, a first-rate tourist resort for mountain hiking in summer and winter. • inter-regional relations between Aquitaine / Aragon: this is the main reason for reopening the Canfranc line, by connecting the two leading regional capitals of Bordeaux (850,000 habitants in the greater city limits, 7 th largest urban area in France) and Zaragoza (700,000 inhabitants in the greater city limits, 5 th largest urban area in Spain). Distant of 500 km, these regional capitals would be connected by train in 6 hours. On the way, the urban areas of Dax / Mont-de-Marsan (100,000 inhabitants), Pau (240,000 inhabitants) and Huesca (50,000 inhabitants) would be also served. Passenger traffic flows will be driven by economic, cultural and educational exchanges, with a strong influence from the neighbouring Midi-Pyrénées region, due to the proximity of Lourdes, a city visited every year by 8 million pilgrims, and of Toulouse (860,000 inhabitants, 6 th largest French urban area). 2 - Freight transport: the aim is to carry the regional productions of Aquitaine and of Aragon by train. Incidentally CRÉLOC would like to underline that it does not support the «rolling road» concept, often recommended to reduce the congestion of valleys, but recommend to carry freight end-to-end in wagons or containers, from production areas to consumer areas, thus reducing significantly the part played by road transport. • On the Aquitaine side: the two main categories of bulk traffic suitable by nature for rail transport are maize and chemicals: - maize: 200,000 tons per year are travelling by road from France to the silos of Canfranc, together with around five weekly 700-ton trains. The whole South-West area of France grows maize, and one of the largest cooperatives is EURALIS, whose headquarters are at Lescar, near Pau: it is expected to have sold almost one million tons of cereals in 2011. The maize production of Aquitaine and of Midi-Pyrénées is about 5 millions tons, with Spain as France’s first export customer. - chemicals: these are mainly ammonia and in a smaller measure sodium chlorate and caustic soda. They are produced in the chemical complex of Lacq - 30 km away from Pau – which has a surface of 260 hectares. Major international companies are located there such as Total, Arkéma, Norsk Hydro, Air Liquide, Sanofi, Soficar, etc... These products are currently carried by road to Spain, to Sabiñanigo and to Zaragoza. • On the Aragon side: two freight areas of international importance can be mentioned: - the PLAtaforma Logística de ZAragoza = PLAZA, an innovative and essential element of Spanish freight. This is the largest logistical platform in Europe: 1300 hectares, of which 200 are dedicated to rail transport. PLAZA is located halfway between the main Spanish harbours of the Levant area (Barcelona, Tarragona and Valencia) and of the Cantabrian coast (Santander, Bilbao and Pasajes). The ambition of Aragon is to open up PLAZA directly onto France in particular and northern Europe in general thanks to the Canfranc line, a natural outlet that would avoid the costly detours via Irùn-Hendaye or Port Bou-Cerbère. - General Motors España: located at Figueruelas - 30 km away from Zaragoza – this factory produces cars of the Opel brand (Meriva, Corsa and Combo), with an output of 400,000 vehicles in 2011 (10 million in 30 years). This represents a theoretical potential of 6 block trains per day or 1.5 million tons annually – which could use the Canfranc railway line. - SAICA paper mills, Balay and BSH home appliances, La Casa chocolates, Pikolin bedding, Sabeco supermarkets, Inditex textiles... are but a few of the other industries located near Zaragoza. 3 - Protection of the mountain eco-system: by transferring to the railway the freight currently carried by road, the Canfranc line would contribute to: • Undoubtedly increase safety on RN 134, the only road in the Aspe valley, • Significantly reduce atmospheric pollution mainly caused by trucks emissions, • Certainly reduce the risk of polluting the Aspe river, as a result of accidents involving trucks carrying chemicals. The 3 reasons above support the tourist redevelopment of the Aspe Valley, so that it is no longer only a transit corridor, but a place where tourism can grow sustainably (hotel accommodation, holiday centers, holiday rental, facilities for sport and leisure, etc...). To conclude: on the basis of the model drawn up in 2009 by Jürg Suter for enhancing the Canfranc line, it is possible to state that the potential annual traffic on reopening of this international route in the 2015 / 2020 timeframe would be: • 1.5 million tons of freight, and • 1 million passengers. Upheld by the technical feasibility of the project, such estimates make reopening a worthwhile and appropriate undertaking. CRELOC Staff .