Acusación de «paripé» y «postureo» al Ministerio de Transportes por tren de Móstoles-Navalcarnero

The Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, has met with the Mayor of Navalcarnero, also a socialist José Luis Adell, to discuss the expansion of the C-5 suburban line from Móstoles to that locality, which falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility and whose project has been on hold.

The regional spokesperson, Miguel Ángel García Martín, responded stating that the Government is engaging in «a charade» and «posturing» by considering the possibility of reviving the project to expand the Cercanías from Móstoles to Navalcarnero, abandoned 15 years ago by the regional government.

During the press conference after the Council of Government, García Martín argued that the Community has been «offering the already constructed infrastructure» to the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility throughout the legislature, the competent authority to undertake a theoretical expansion.

He added that if the Transport Minister wants to «improve the Cercanías» in Madrid, he indeed has «an opportunity» with the Navalcarnero railway project, but he must also address the «incidents» that occur «every day» in the existing network.

«Less photos and more investment,» García Martín retorted.

The project to expand the Cercanías network from Móstoles to Navalcarnero, passing through Arroyomolinos, was a personal endeavor of the former regional president Esperanza Aguirre, who awarded it to the construction company OHL in 2009 for 369 million euros without consulting the Ministry of Public Works.

Construction began that same year in Móstoles, where tunnels were excavated to bury the entire line as it passed through the city, and in Navalcarnero, where the route, which ran on the surface, was delimited and fenced off, and the El Pinar and La Dehesa stations were started.

However, this route, which was supposed to be 15 kilometers long with seven stations and open by the end of 2015, was halted by OHL in 2010, and almost 15 years after the start of this project, the residents of Navalcarnero, Móstoles, and Arroyomolinos still do not have this connection.

The Community of Madrid, which had to pay 162.5 million euros to the concessionaire in 2022 and has also allocated up to 170,000 euros per year solely for the surveillance and maintenance of the track, decided last year to throw in the towel after several judicial setbacks and proposed to pass the ball back to the Ministry.