Railway projects planned by the Balearic Government have run into local opposition, most obviously in Sa Pobla, where there is widespread rejection of the government's preferred route for the extension to Alcudia.
The other project currently on the table is the railway from Palma via the airport and onto Llucmajor and ultimately Campos. It too has generated local concern. It is estimated that some seventy farming families will be affected by the proposed route.
A group called DECA (Citizen Defence against Abuse) brought together some one hundred residents and representatives of all political parties at Llucmajor Town Hall to agree on joint action. The political parties are siding with residents in rejecting the proposed route. It's "Yes to the train, but not this route".
At a meeting on Friday evening, Jaume Oliver of PSOE summed up the general sentiment. There is support for the railway, "but this route makes no sense and affects around seventy families who live off agriculture and livestock farming and are the ones who keep the land alive".
He explained that his party had submitted "two very specific proposals" to the government in June along with all the documentation to back up a change to the route. This was presented on time and in the correct manner during the public consultation phase, "but they haven't responded".