DECA, a group that has brought together residents affected by the proposed Palma to Llucmajor railway, has announced that it will organise protests. Standing for 'defence of the citizen against abuses', the group's president, Joan Gil, says the Balearic ministry of mobility "hasn't accepted any of our submissions, even those where the route passes through homes and agricultural plots".
"Responses made to the collective objections are a copy and paste of the ones sent to individuals, even though the content is different. We are very hurt and indignant at the lack of sensitivity they've shown, because they don't respond to our requests and they don't have the slightest interest in being empathetic.
"Their responses demonstrate a lack of work. I would venture to say unethical, considering that these are people who have spent money preparing well-founded arguments. It's a disgrace that this is happening."
Those affected by the Llucmajor line submitted an environmental report pointing to, among other things, the number of homes directly affected, the fragmentation of agricultural plots and the impact on protected habitats and species.
"The fragmentation of properties would have a severe impact on the productive and social structure of the area. Many of the affected properties are family farms with a territorial organisation that would be irreversibly altered, hindering access to the plots, livestock or agricultural management, and increasing the risk of abandoning traditional economic activities."
Joan Mas, the head of the mobility and transport engineering department, says its environmental analysis "was carried out thoroughly and rigorously, taking into account the reports issued by administrative bodies, among others".
The government has two priority rail projects - Palma-Llucmajor (and onto Campos) and Sa Pobla to Alcudia, which will supposedly be operational in 2032 and 2031, respectively. Both have run into strong local opposition. A third project, said to be less of a priority, is Manacor to Arta, to which there is no opposition; the basic infrastructure already exists.