of ICercanius line C-3 After the fateful damage on October 29, when much of the infrastructure was destroyed, there are still gaps to fully restore rail services in the Valencian region. After being number one … The flood-damaged stretch of road from Valencia Nord Station to Utiel is the only stretch of road that has yet to have a reopening date.
Despite the discomfort already among line users, C-3 took small steps toward recovery last week. On 6 November, the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility MotoGP Grand Prix In Ceste, a new 10-kilometre stretch was opened between Aldaia and the Ricardo Tormo circuit stop, with the aim of making it easier for fans to access the sporting events to be held on 14, 15 and 16 November, but work has already been completed.
Also this week, the Cercanías line C-3 reopened Lorigila station, the next station on the route after Aldaia. This is the first significant advance in almost a year since traffic was restored between Valencia and Aldaya on December 12 after damage caused by floods. Since then, there has been no news that service has been restored.
Although the service area has been expanded slightly with the start of Lorigila service, the line has not yet been completely rebuilt and is currently closed to Utiel. Mayor Utiel denounces this. Ricardo GabaldonA person who transferred to ABC They are concerned about the impact that the long-term closure of Cercanias Line C-3 due to Dana, which has lasted more than a year, is having on the region.
According to Ricardo Gabaldon, the situation is exacerbating a service that was already in serious trouble. “It has a very negative impact on the population. Moreover, this is traditionally an almost Third World route, and it took two hours to travel the 75 kilometers from Valencia to Utiel,” he points out.
Therefore, the mayor criticizes the current alternative of shuttle buses as ineffective. “Their job is made worse because they have to delay or change locations to catch them. dissatisfaction is common“He said, emphasizing that the rail service was widely used not only by the residents of Utiel, but also by workers and students from neighboring municipalities.
The new CV-106 bus route, which began operating in January, is expected to remain in service for the next 10 years, even if Cercanias service is restored, due to high transportation demand in the area.
Regarding the reopening deadline, Gabaldon asserted that the lack of information was also the cause of the discomfort, saying, “It’s been a year and we haven’t heard anything. It’s very frustrating.” Recovery is progressing very slowly». Furthermore, he argues that “in the 21st century, it takes less than two hours to travel between Valencia and Utiel. We are a landlocked region and need proper transportation,” and insists that we take advantage of this situation to modernize our infrastructure.
It should be remembered that after the damage, Minister Oscar Puente announced that he intended to use the reconstruction of Line C-3 for electrification and double-tracking. But a year later, the ministry continues its research.
Pulse between central and national governments
The Ministry of Transport has emphasized the central government’s “efforts” to carry out comprehensive rehabilitation of this railway line in a “planned manner.”Recording time “In just one year,” the Generalitat blames this partial recovery on the occasion of this event.slow and bad».
Announcing the partial reopening of the railway, Vicente Martínez Muss, Second Vice President for Reconstruction, Environment, Infrastructure and Territory, denounced: “The delayed reconstruction of the railway cannot be sold as a success, since only two stops have been restored and 12 stops are still not operational. This is a great insult to the residents of Chiba, Bunol and Utiel.”
Construction underway on Line C-3
However, the ministry claims through Adif that it has been working “from the first moment of the tragedy to restart the Serkanias line as soon as possible and completely replace the 80 kilometers of track to Utiel.”
Similarly, the Ministry continues to work on replacing the remaining damaged infrastructure on this line, “allocating all possible means to carrying out painstaking and complex works to replace the destroyed structures, railway platforms and a series of systems, and continuing to make significant technical and human efforts,” they indicated.
Among the works carried out, the reconstruction of three viaducts stands out: Barranco Grande (55 meters long), Ceste I (100 meters) and Ceste II (76 meters). The last two save the intersection with Rambla de Cheste.
Meanwhile, uncertainty continues. Despite the ministry’s insistence that it remains optimistic, residents and heads of affected municipalities still do not know when construction on Line C-3 will be completed. The only concrete reality is that the estimated nearly 8 million annual visitors to the region are left without clear answers and without alternatives to meet their needs.
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