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Rail operator Renfe states on its website, “We are the leading company for the mode of transport that pollutes the least. That is both fortunate and a big responsibility, and we work every day to multiply that advantage to the maximum, from all areas of the Renfe Group. The result of this work is called Sustainability and it is a priority commitment for us.

 

“Aligning ourselves with the Sustainable Development Goals from the United Nations 2030 Agenda, we aim to advance this commitment by conducting energy audits and measuring the carbon footprint of our activity and, as a result, by developing and implementing a mobility plan that promotes decarbonisation.”

 

However, cyclists from Cartagena who have been banned from taking their cycles on a local train route disagree with this statement and on the evening of Thursday June 29 members of several Cartagena-based cycling collectives (BICUE, Fridays for Future, Movili-CT and Vía Libre Cartagena) held a “ride to increase awareness” of the problems they face on a daily basis, specifically highlighting the decision made by Renfe to ban bicycles from the local Cartagena-Los Nietos rail service during the holiday and peak periods after June 1.

 

 

Although this decision affects a relatively small number of cyclists, it has made a dramatic difference to the lives of car-less families who do use the service and now find themselves unable to reach the Mar Menor coastline with their only form of transport; conversely, cycling tourists visiting the coastal areas of the municipality have no means of transporting their cycles to the city in order to shop and visit tourist attractions easily.

 

Representatives of the group explained that this is a local decision of Renfe management and relates specifically to the Cartagena-Los Nietos service, something they view as being totally illogical given the investment being made by the local council into bringing Cartagena into line with other European cities to provide an extensive network of cycle lanes and the stated commitment of the rail operator to provide sustainable public transport.

 

Cartagena council is fully aware of the importance of adapting the city to more sustainable forms of transport due to climate change and legislation which will limit carbon emissions in the city centre of the future, as well as being fully aware of the financial implications of cycling tourism and sporting tourism.

 

Ironically, this weekend Cartagena hosts the 2023 edition of the Spanish Children’s and Cadet Road Cycling, BTT and Paralympic Championship, organised by the Cycling Federation of the Region of Murcia, with the participation of 850 cyclists from across Spain, accompanied by their families. The council proudly announced on its website this Friday that hotels in the municipality are full this weekend as a result of this event and other tourism initiatives.

 

 

Participants will largely cycle in the outlying districts and not in the city centre, although unfortunately those wishing to avail themselves of the cycle lanes in the city may find it difficult to follow a continuous route due to the fragmented nature of the existing cycle lane network.

As a cyclist who prefers scenic seaside routes taken at a gentle pace on a balmy sunny evening to dodging reversing motorists and city buses, participation in the route last evening was a real eye-opener and revealed the huge task facing the council if they are to create a credible network for those preferring “cleaner” sustainable transport.

Cycle lanes regularly came to an end with no visible means of negotiating some of the busiest and most dangerous roundabouts in the city. On major thoroughfares, there are no visible cycle routes at all and some of the cycle routes encountered are in an appalling condition. There is no signage to assist cyclists wishing to travel through the city centre and few “parking facilities” for bicycles.

All in all, it was a pretty hair-raising experience and this fair-weather cyclist was grateful for the safety in numbers granted by the group, who braved the busy lanes of traffic and constantly halting buses.

 

 

The Mayoress of the city, Noelia Arroyo, who oversees the important Tourism Department of the council and was formerly Councillor for Sport, has herself officially requested that representatives of Renfe, which answers directly to the national Ministry of Transport and not to the local or regional governments, review their decision and permit cyclists to use the train during the tourist season and peak hours.

 

In her statement, she pointed out that the municipality has increased its cycle network to 45 kilometres of cycle lanes, and the new mobility plan for the municipality includes expenditure of 5 million euros to extend cycle networks, although these are largely leisure cycling routes and do little to address the chaotic infrastructure currently facing domestic residents on a daily basis. Certainly, there are no cycle routes between Cartagena and Los Nietos to compensate for the lost train service.

 

The municipal area of Cartagena covers 558.3km2, so although 45km of cycle lanes does represent an increase of 40% in recent years, it also reveals just how much more investment is required to meet the challenges of environmental demands and adapting the municipality to better cater for more sustainable forms of transport in order to combat climate change and reduce carbon emissions.

 

However, for the moment, the priority of these local cyclists is reversing the decision taken by Renfe management, for which purpose a petition has been created on Change.org.

 

Please take a couple of minutes to sign it. Every voice counts: Dejen bicis en la FEVE Cartagena-Los Nietos: SOS movilidad sostenible

 

 

Images 1 & 2: Zoe Cooper

Images 3 & 4: Ayuntamiento de Cartagena