Only a year after it was officially opened, the so-called Green Way from Manacor to Arta, that was created when the scheme for the railway line was dropped, is showing signs of neglect. Users of this way, which is made good use of, are complaining of filth, animal excrement, dried-out vegetation, trees that are untended and graffiti at some of the stations.
SFM (Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca), the rail operator, is aware of the situation and is taking action to remedy it by demanding that the joint venture organisations which were responsible for the project complies with an obligation for maintenance. The work on the way was done in five stages and each of these carried a requirement for keeping the land up to scratch.
The boss of SFM, Mateu Capellà, says that he recently was able to go along the whole of the way and "basically, it's a disaster". "We've been able to observe that maintenance is inadequate and that there are major deficiencies. Therefore, we have been in contact with the companies so that they act immediately and ensure the obligatory maintenance." (In fact, there are sections of the way that don't convey such an uncared-for image.)
The cost to convert the railway line into the Green Way was around 4.3 million euros.