The transport ministry has lost tourist tax revenue that was to have gone towards the railway museum in Son Carrió and a working old train.
In October 2017, it was announced that 4.2 million euros were to be made available in three phases between 2018 and 2020. The money is no longer available because the required terms for the grant were not set out within the allocated timeframe. The director-general of transport, Jaume Mateu, says that various legal issues have been the reason. One of these issues was the creation of new track along what is a green way that was itself created when the revived Manacor-Arta line was abandoned.
Nevertheless, Mateu insists that the project will still go ahead. The ministry, he says, has its own source of funding. "In fact, the 2019 budget has an allocation of 400,000 euros."
The legal issue regarding the green way would now appear to have been sorted out. The government's law for ways (ley de caminos) has helped to provide a legal basis for the rail track. This law is, however, proving somewhat controversial. The Partido Popular are to challenge it, their appeal being based on what they claim is unconstitutionality.