The President of the Government of the Balearic Islands, Francina Armengol, and the Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Raquel Sánchez, today signed the general protocol of action to develop the Palma tram project.
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The protocol signed today defines the Autonomous Community as responsible for the development of the project and the Ministry as the financing body. The approximate cost of the first section of the tramway is 185 million euros, which the Ministry undertakes to finance gradually. This is the most expensive section of the project, which, adding the Palma Bay and Son Espases Hospital branches together, involves an investment of approximately 250 million euros.
The president of the Govern thanked the minister for “the commitment to make this investment possible” and “all those people who dreamed of the Palma tram many years ago” because “work well done ends up having results, and it is when the realisation of dreams comes to a halt that things go backwards”.
Trambadia in the Balearic Islands
“Since 2015 we have made a strategic change in the mobility of the island of Mallorca”, said Francina Armengol, recalling that seven years ago “our trains and buses ran on fossil fuels and now everything is electrified or runs on gas”.
Finally, the President of the Government defined the tram project as a “highly motivating initiative for Palma and Mallorca because, based on sustainable mobility, it transforms the city for the better” and implies “a change in mobility with an eye on the fight against climate change”.
The Government of the Balearic Islands has also initially approved the basic project for the Trambadia. Once this approval has been published in the BOIB, scheduled for Saturday 12th, the corresponding period of the public exhibition will begin. An information campaign will also be launched so that citizens can consult the project and be informed about the presentation of allegations. From tomorrow, Friday, the trambadia.org website will be available, where the details of the project can be consulted.
For 2023, the general state budgets foresee an initial allocation of 20 million euros as the first yearly payment, which will allow work on the first section of the Trambadia to be put out to tender, with a route that will run from Plaza de España to the airport and will connect the different neighbourhoods with the city centre.
The works are scheduled to begin in 2023, with a completion period of 40 months. This first section will be 10.5 km long, with 16 stops between Plaça Espanya and the airport. It will connect Palma’s Llevant neighbourhoods with the centre and will also serve new growth areas, such as Nou Llevant, where innovation projects linked to research, culture and new technologies are also planned. It will improve the connection with the airport, the coastal area and the city centre, and will boost mobility and connectivity for residents and visitors.
The implementation of the Trambadia will transform the streets it will pass through, making them more pedestrian-friendly. It will run on electric power, which will significantly reduce pollutant emissions and noise in the city. It will also improve people’s mobility and connectivity, with a frequency of 10 minutes and an expected journey time of 31 minutes.
At the same time, the Department of Mobility and Housing continues to work on the processing of the projects for sections 2 and 3, Platja de Palma and Son Espases, which will complete the tramway route.
The signing of the protocol was attended, in addition to the President of the Government and the minister, by the Minister of Housing and Mobility, Josep Marí; the Mayor of Palma, José Hila; the Director General of Mobility and Land Transport, Jaume Mateu, and other authorities.