The three mayors have established the first steps to highlight the road that has been in disuse since last year and turn it into a mixed greenway

Hellin. 5 August 2020.- The mayor of Hellín, Ramon Garcia, has received today in the town hall of this town his counterparts from Cieza, Pascual Lucas, and Calasparra, Teresa Garcia, and they have discussed the possibilities and steps to follow to create a mixed greenway between the three localities, that would use the route that fell into disuse last year after ADIF and RENFE launched the Camarillas variant.

The three mayors have agreed on the possibilities for tourism, patrimonial, sports and social that would give the launch of a mixed greenway of these characteristics, which would be a pioneer in Spain by alternating pedestrian and walking use with that of adapted means of transport that circulate on the road itself, old section of the Chinchilla-Murcia-Cartagena line, according to the document already raised by the Fundación de Ferrocarriles Españoles.

The councilors have agreed to start a process of institutional coordination with the Junta de Castilla La Mancha and the Region of Murcia to involve all sectoral areas with a voice in this new scenario, as well as expressing to Adif and the Ministry of Public Works the clear will not to raise the tracks and preserve the disused railway lines that still retain tracks in their current state between Agramón (Hellin) and Cieza, and subsequently sign the pertinent agreements to assume the management of these routes, that cover almost 60 kilometres.

The mayors of Hellín, Cieza and Calasparra have shown their willingness to study possible rail transport and leisure services and to enhance the possibilities of infrastructure and real estate, such as stations and stops that are still standing to accommodate new uses and that would have to be negotiated directly with ADIF.

For the start-up of this project, the study of external financing lines will begin immediately., especially those related to its integration into the framework of European projects and linking it to the Rural Development area due to its relationship with depopulation in an eminently rural area.

Among the first proposals at the meeting, which was also attended by the councilor for Rural Development of Hellín and regional deputy of Castilla-La Mancha, Julian Martinez, the Councilor for Tourism of Cieza, Antonio Moya, and the councilor for Urbanism and Works of Calasparra, Antonio Merino, It has been put on the table to link the future name of this greenway to esparto, as a common historical link of the route's layout, or rice, product that is seen in its splendor from the road itself, plus other common crops and agricultural landscapes, in addition to the prehistoric link with Minateda, the cave of the Port and La Serreta.

The three municipalities, Finally, They have been entrusted to future joint meetings and with other institutions involved to continue advancing in a project that they consider essential for the integration of the territory and interregional work between the regions of Murcia and Castilla-La Mancha.