Mallorca trains: August cuts hit 700,000 users

Passengers on Mallorca’s Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca (SFM) network had fewer trains in August, with MÉS per Mallorca saying the cuts affected 700,000 users. Speaking in Parliament in Palma on 15 September, housing, territory and mobility minister José Luis Mateo said work at the Son Rullan workshops had forced the reduced timetable. He said the regional government would work to prevent the same disruption next summer.

Routes saw sharpest cuts

MÉS per Mallorca accused the government of failing to honour a parliamentary instruction to keep August train frequencies in place. The party calculated that services across the network were reduced by 52%.

Deputy Rosa said two out of every three trains between Palma and Inca were cancelled. On the Palma–Manacor and Palma–sa Pobla routes, one train in five was taken out of service, he said.

Son Rullan work behind the timetable change

Mateo said August normally brings lower demand and that summer service adjustments had been made in earlier years. During the previous term, they ran from 15 July to 31 August; this year they applied only in August.

He described the 25 million euros project at Son Rullan as highly complex and said it made the cuts necessary. The government wants next summer’s timetable to run in full, although safety work may still have to be carried out in August or at another suitable time.

MÉS per Mallorca said the workshop work had long been planned and argued that disruption could have been reduced by strengthening the TIB bus service. Mateo said technical staff had not considered extra buses necessary, adding that some train lines already connect with bus services. He apologised to rail users and said the government was investing in SFM to improve infrastructure, safety, frequencies and resources.

Topics: Politics · Palma · Inca · Manacor · Sa Pobla

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com